More than a Butler
by FanaticMarioMan
Summary: A young boy named Nicholas gets the change of the lifetime when he is asked to become Xander's butler. But only time will tell the things that will happen to him that may just end up being more than he bargained for.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Just going to get this out of the way for all you skeptics out there, this story is all written and will be completed, I promise. I solemnly swear on my complete Smash Bros. amiibo collection (:D) that this will all be uploaded in due time.**_

 _ **Thanks to all returning followers after my message! That really means a lot to me. Of course, new followers are welcome (this is a re-upload of a very slowly started story).**_

 _ **If I think of anything else to say I'll add it later but in the mean time, enjoy! Please, leave a review if you can because I'm revising and uploading as I go so your input could influence how the story turns out (...slightly). Also, if you'd like to support me even further, please vote on the poll on my profile because I'm going to be using that for the next story I write. I think it's gonna turn out great.**_

 _ **3/13/17 I remembered something very important that I need to write. If you are one of those people that wants FanFictions to be as close to the original source material as possible with all the little details, please exit this page now. This is not one of those stories. What follows are the major points I've changed. For starters, Corrin mysteriously doesn't exit... The castle and, quite frankly, all of Nohr is re-designed (except for a few things) to fit the story I had in mind. Also, everyone is about 3 years older (which may or may not be important). I'll add more if I think of things.**_

 _ **3/16/17 As a guest pointed out (thank you by the way), most of the retainers don't exist. That was just too many characters to write with and I mostly wanted to focus on the royal family.**_

 _ **I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Prologue

 _Words are a funny thing aren't they. We're taught that they have specific meaning and are to be used according to that meaning in very specific instances. The problem is that a lot of those meanings are quite subjective._

 _Like, really, how often is a colorblind person going to be using the word "green" to describe a field of grass since they can't tell what color it is; the field no longer fits the definition. Or how about a baby using the word "small" to describe a basketball; that thing's bigger than a baby's head for goodness sake. But for a basketball player, the ball can be picked up with one hand, certainly allowing them to use the word "small"._

 _Now, to be fair, both of these words are adjectives, and adjectives by definition, no matter how you look at it, are subjective. Everyone's got a different way of describing things. It's a lot harder to find subjective nouns. After all, a cat's a cat, a dog's a dog, and a person's a person no matter how small._

 _But what about the word "hero"? What is a hero?_

 _Pop culture's definition of a hero is this: someone with extraordinary abilities and immeasurable power who rises up to defend Earth from all manner of fearsome monsters and foe. Think Avengers or Superman._

 _The story I'm about to tell you features a very ordinary hero who is quite ordinary looking too. Quite the oxymoron, I know. Heros are more often than not quite dashing or beautiful. But sometimes it's not how someone looks or the huge feats of strength they perform that makes them extraordinary. It's the little things. Those small acts of bravery or kindness can make a big difference in someone's life. And that makes someone extraordinary to them in just the same way._

* * *

The kingdom of Nohr used to be a grand kingdom that every citizen was proud to be a part of. Nohr was led by a strong but fair king, King Garon. He made sure that his kingdom upheld its reputation for being prosperous and a good kingdom to live in. His rules were fair and the people loved him for it. It was a time of peace.

This is when Nicholas was born.

Nicholas was born into a poorer family and both of his parents were servants. Both of his parents served aristocrats in the nicer residential areas of the capital as a private butler and maid in the house of their aristocrats. From sun-up to sun-down, their jobs were to make sure that the people they work for were cared for and protected. Not everyone saw the appeal of a job that's based solely on serving someone else, but Nicholas's parents saw it as a sense of loyalty. They felt that it was a way to show their kind heart and devotion to the kingdom, and they wanted their child to follow the same path. From birth, they tried to teach Nicholas to respect the king up until the age of six, when children could start apprenticing. Nicholas became an apprentice for a butler named David. David took Nicholas in as almost his own son, teaching him as much as he could while still being kind and fair like a father would. The man David served, an aristocrat named Daniel, was also kind to Nicholas, and Nicholas grew to respect and admire them very much. It also gave Nicholas a chance to spend more time in the upper-class part of the capital, and his parents always reminded him to pay attention to the king's rules and respect them. For three years Nicholas continued like this.

Then something began to go amiss about King Garon. People started to notice that he had a change of heart. The number of Hoshidans, people from the neighboring kingdom, found touring the capital started to diminish radically. Gate checks began to pop up on roads to Hoshido and no one could pass them without official business. The number of guards found in the city started to increase and many people were suddenly being recruited into the Nohrian army. Nicholas's parents were blind to the motives behind these changes and tried to tell Nicholas that the king was doing things for the good of the kingdom. But children aren't as stupid as people believe.

It was mostly because of David. David didn't trust the king. He had been around for a long time and knew what the king was like, and he could tell that this wasn't how he normally acted. The king was wary but never restricted Hoshidans from visiting Nohr or Nohrians from visiting Hoshido.

David became Nicholas's source of news from the outside world. During the few years that followed as Nicholas improved his skills as a butler, every morning David would give him a report on the latest news about the king's decisions and the state of the kingdom and Nicholas grew ever more suspicious about the loyalty he was placing in the king.

The day King Garon declared war on Hoshido came as a shock to nearly everyone in Nohr. Nicholas was twelve years old when it happened and will always remember the day clearly. When he reported to David, the first thing David said to Nicholas was that there had been war declared on Hoshido. Nicholas couldn't possibly think of a reason why. Sir Daniel had already left that morning for a meeting at the castle, so they sat down to talk. David explained that in the middle of a war, rules would get a lot stricter. Already, King Garon had started trying to find people sympathetic to the Hoshidans and punish them. David warned him to be very careful about everything he said and did until the war was over.

Nicholas's parents still insisted that the king was bringing glory to the kingdom, but Nicholas knew better. He no longer trusted the king at all and was a bit disgusted at how blind his parents were. He even considered quitting his apprenticeship since he no longer saw the point in it.

But then a different side of the story started to surface. One of David's best friends from his childhood was Gunter, Prince Xander's head retainer. Gunter came one morning to speak with David. He told David about how King Garon was sending out his army led by Prince Xander to go and conquer Hoshido, but that he shouldn't worry. Xander had no intentions to execute the orders to kill given by King Garon and was secretly working with the people loyal to him to try and save as many people as possible.

This intrigued Nicholas. A prince defying the king was unheard of, but in this scenario, it was necessary to keep peace. Nicholas was fascinated at the amount of courage and compassion Prince Xander had to directly defy the king's orders for a cause he believed in; mercy.

The more he heard, the more Nicholas found Xander to be a person worthy of his loyalty. Every day he was anxious to see if there was any new news that David could tell him from the letters received by Gunter. When there was none, his day was filled with anxious wondering about what was happening. When news did arrive, it was often good, and it lifted Nicholas's spirits. His admiration and respect for Xander only grew and grew. He admired the drive for peace Xander had and his courage for defying his father. Xander became his role model.

Sometimes, in secret, at night, when his parents had gone to bed, Nicholas would pretend to be Xander and often stage elaborate scenarios in which King Garon would order Xander (Nicholas) to kill a group of people, and he would miraculously save them without the king knowing. And like every child that finds a role model, he wanted desperately to meet Xander.

Nicholas had just turned thirteen when the most shocking report they ever received from Gunter arrived.

Garon had been killed.

The story that the public would be told was that Garon had tragically died in the final battle getting into the throne room. He would be given a hero's funeral and then Xander would succeed him.

But the story Gunter told was different. Xander had killed Garon himself.

The letter from Gunter explained that they had successfully conquered Hoshido (with more casualties than Xander's group would have liked) and that Garon had sat on the throne of Hoshido, which reveals the truth about everyone.

Gunter described how he witnessed the king change before his very eyes into a grotesque monster that revolted even his own children. Somehow, at some point in time, the once noble king had been taken over by something much more sinister.

Xander had killed him not thinking of Garon as his father, but rather a monster that, now revealed, would kill as much as possible. It was a tough choice to kill his own father, but Xander knew that if he let Garon go, he would ravage Hoshido and Nohr alike. That was why he killed him.

Xander and the rest of the Hoshidan army soon returned and were met with a rousing celebration upon their reentry into the capital, and at the front of the crowd was David with Nicholas right beside him. Nicholas experienced a feeling of awe unlike anything he had every felt before when he saw Xander pass by that day, on his way to becoming a king. Never before had he more desperately wanted to meet Xander, even to be his friend.

Nicholas received a newfound energy in his work as a butler, for he reasoned that the easiest way for him to meet Xander would be to become his butler. Nicholas worked twice as hard in the final three years of his apprenticeship mastering every possible aspect. While the hard work did shave off his childish obsession, he never lost his sense of respect he felt toward Xander, and he was not going to give up on his goal.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Aha, I did remember something. To prowessMaster44, I don't know what I did to deserve you, but you've given me so many great comments and edits and suggestions and just everything in general from you is amazing. Thanks for being a great friend and editor through this whole journey of writing a novel.**_

 _ **P.S., Those picture I sent gone out of your head yet? Something *coughcoughyourcommentscoughcough* tells me not... :D (inside jokes ftw)**_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Nicholas's eyes flutter open quickly. Feeling around in the dark, he lights a candle and glances at the old clock given to him by his parents. 6:40 in the morning; 20 minutes before it's time to serve breakfast. Jumping out of bed, he gets dressed, puts on his utility apron (his own design) and heads to the kitchen in under three minutes, a record breaking time.

It's not surprising though, since today is his last day as an apprentice; anyone would be as anxious on a day like this. Two months before an apprentice turns seventeen, they are released from their apprenticeship and are given the two months to decide on an employer before they turn seventeen and can officially be hired. This is the day he's been working up to for three years, and his ambitions aren't about to be squashed by sleeping in.

Nicholas is whisking some eggs together when David walks in behind him.

"I see you're already up and at 'em for the day. Probably couldn't keep you in bed today if I tied you to it with some rope," he comments, reaching in the cupboard for a jar of black pepper for Nicholas.

"I doubt you could keep me in bed even if you hired Nohr's best mage to bind me there," Nicholas retorts while beginning to chop up the pepper into fine grains.

"Now that's a little extreme don't you think?" David responds.

"Can't be more extreme than my excitement," Nicholas says, a small smile plastered on his lips.

"So you're excited then, are you?" David asks. Nicholas looks over at him with an amused and bewildered look on his face.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Nicholas questions ask he starts whisking eggs in a bowl.

"Just seeing if there's any chance I can get you to stay here," David explains. For a moment, a distant look passes over his eyes but Nicholas doesn't notice it. "You know I'm going to miss you, Nicholas," he states.

Nicholas's whisk slows. "Oh, don't be sad. It's not like I'm going away forever or anything, I'm just going to be getting an official job now!" he reassures. When David's look doesn't waver, Nicholas adds while turning back to his work, "I'll write to you too, I promise."

David smiles. "Much better," he affirms and goes off to find some ham for the eggs.

Eleven years working as an apprentice butler with a unique burning drive to do better at everything has made him quite formidable at his job. His specialty, though, is cooking. His cooking is famous throughout the neighborhood, as Sir Daniel often humbly brags about it to other aristocrats. He finds ways to express himself through cooking. If he's having a good day, he'll choose to flavor his meals sweet. If he isn't having a good day, Sir Daniel will often find things spicy in his food, though that's what he prefers.

After frying the eggs, pepper and ham together in a pan over the fire for a while, Nicholas dishes the meal out onto a plate, prepares a formal and respectable attitude, and steps through the door, with David in tow, into the dining room where Sir Daniel waits.

"Ah, Nicholas, good to see you today. What fine cuisine have you prepared for me this fine morning?" he asks jovially.

"I made your favorite today, sir," Nicholas answers hiding the plate behind his back.

"Oh, don't tell me. An omelet?" Sir Daniel guesses.

"Correct, sir."

"And let me guess, have you put black pepper and ham in it?"

"Correct again sir. You know me too well," Nicholas says with a smile.

"Oh, you spoil me," Sir Daniel says, returning the smile.

"Well, it is my job at the moment," Nicholas states.

"No, it is technically David's job. Though I doubt he would do the same things you do," the hungry aristocrat says, taking a bite of the omelet. "Mmm, delicious. I really am going to miss your wonderful meals."

Nicholas bows. "It has been a pleasure serving you," he says with a nostalgic look on his face.

"Do you have any idea who you will be working for?" David asks.

"Well…" Nicholas starts and pauses, not really sure how to explain. He doesn't need to because Sir Daniel speaks up.

"I would ask to keep you here, but I know you must have some ambitions, Nicholas, that I could not fulfill," Sir Daniel comments. "And you are always welcome to stay here with David."

Nicholas just stands there thinking.

Sir Daniel stands. "I would love to stay on the happy topic of your future, Nicholas, but I'm afraid there are more serious matters that I must discuss." He turns to address David. "It may come as a shock but, most regrettably, Gunter has passed away." A quick look of grief passes over David's face, but he hides it well. Whether Sir Daniel notices it, Nicholas cannot tell, but he continues. "I know that he was a good friend to you, David, and I'm sure that you will need time to grieve. The somewhat better news is that King Xander has also not overlooked your friendship and you are invited to his funeral tomorrow."

"It is very pleasing to hear that, sir. Please tell King Xander I am much obliged to him," David says stoically.

"I shall. And I should also mention that I will be attending also," Sir Daniel adds.

A brief lull interrupts the conversation.

"Well, I suppose I shall leave you to your other tasks for the day," Sir Daniel says, getting up to return to his room. "I am very sorry, David." Sir Daniel retires to his room.

"Are we going to the funeral?" Nicholas asks David who continues standing still.

"If I didn't go to the funeral, it would be an insult to our friendship," he says conclusively and heads off to clean the house. Nicholas stares after him. He's never seen David's usually peppy attitude shot down so quickly. But, Nicholas can't neglect his job on the last day, so he also heads off to help.

Throughout the day, Nicholas watches David and realizes that David never told him how he met Gunter. The thought buzzes around inside his head the whole day and eventually, around dinner, he decides to ask.

"Hey, David, can I ask you something?" he asks later that day.

"Sure," David responds.

"Well, I was just thinking about the news earlier and going to the funeral and I guess I just realized you've never told me how you and Gunter became friends. I figured I'd like to know since I'm going to the funeral," Nicholas says.

David smiles after a little bit. "I never have told you, have I?" he comments. "Sit down, I guess it's only fair I tell you."

"I suppose I should start at the beginning," Davis begins. "Gunter was a longtime friend of my father in his childhood. They grew up together in serving families like us and became good friends. So, because my parents wanted me to be a butler also, I got to know him a little bit, but not like I did later. My parents actually wanted me to apprentice with them, but I declined. They weren't exactly the most suited for their jobs and I wanted someone more experienced. I guess I never fully understood just how clumsy my parents were. It was only a few months after I got my job here that I received news that my parents had died." A hollow laugh escapes from him as memories resurface. "My mom was baking a meal and left it over the fire while she went to do something else. Then she forgot. The meal caught on fire and burned the house down, trapping them inside in the process," Nicholas makes a mental note never to leave anything on the fire. "With my parents gone, I found myself without a guardian to look to for comfort. I ended up spending a lot of time with Gunter because I remembered him as my father's friend, and he quickly became a good friend of mine. I've stayed in contact with him ever since. He reminded me of my parents whenever I wanted to remember them."

"Wow, I'm really sorry. I guess I never knew how close you were," Nicholas apologizes.

"It's not something for you to worry about," David says, picking up the plate he set down to continue. "What is important, is that we get this dishes finished so we can get some good sleep so that we can get to the funeral tomorrow."

"I concur," Nicholas agrees. Without so much as another peep from either of them, they finish the dishes together.

Nicholas ponders about David's story about Gunter. To have a close friend like that pass away would be very hard for anyone. An unusual wave of sympathy passes over him for he knows that David is hiding his feeling from him. It makes him just a little less excited to be getting his own job soon.

Nicholas has a hard time falling asleep that night. Aside from his sympathy toward David, so many worries float around his head about getting a job soon. He doesn't think he will be able to jump straight to a position in the castle and wonders where he should start working first. he wonders what his parents would say about where he should go, but he knows that they don't agree with Xander and probably wouldn't agree with his ambitions. Eventually, exhaustion overtakes worry and he falls into a restless sleep.

* * *

For the first day in a long while, David wakes Nicholas up in the morning. It's like his mind knows that it can take a break after many long years of waking up early and wants to take a much-needed break.

"Wake up, Nicholas. We have to get ready for the funeral today," David says shaking his body lightly to wake him up. As Nicholas rubs his eyes and attempts to drag himself out of bed, David continues. "Make sure you put on some darker clothing and be on your best behavior at all times."

"Alright," Nicholas says. Then to lighten the mood he adds, "When am I not on my best behavior?"

"Touché," David acknowledges. "Just be quick about it. Sir Daniel has graciously agreed to take us on some of his horses so that we won't have to walk. It would be rude to keep him waiting."

Nicholas forces himself out of bed and quickly gets dressed for the day. As he pulls out a black outfit for himself, his mind wanders back to David. For a brief moment he worries about how he will do at the funeral but quickly shakes it off.

A few minutes later, Nicholas mounts the sleek, black horse Sir Daniel provides for him and the three of them ride off to the cemetery at the edge of town where the funeral will be held soon.

As Nicholas rides through the paths of Nohr, he is introduced to a whole new side of Nohr he has never seen before. He hasn't ventured far from Sir Daniel's neighborhood and the local market. Now, he sees the beauty in the landscape of a country he previously did not know included the type of land he currently rides through. But Nicholas can't quite fully appreciate the view, for the purpose of the ride lingers on his mind.

They arrive midday with the sun just before its peak and head to the section of the cemetery where they can see a crowd of people gathering. David hasn't spoken a word to Nicholas since that morning. As they find their seats for the speeches at the beginning, Nicholas spots Xander at the front standing straight in a kingly manner, just as he would be expected to. Nicholas subconsciously becomes much more aware of his actions and manner.

Once the program starts, the funeral is just what Nicholas expects. A small podium is set up to the side of Gunter's grave stone where a priest stands. To start, the priest gives a speech about the many good deeds Gunter did during his life: his long devotion to Xander since birth, his hand in saving lives in the war with Hoshido, and how he stuck with Xander even when his body began failing with old age. Then Xander gives his own speech about Gunter, then Gunter's family, and so on. Nicholas glances at David periodically through the afternoon. The distant look in his eyes almost makes him put an arm around David's shoulder.

After all the speeches are over, a small reception is held for friends and families to talk. Sir Daniel excuses himself from Nicholas and David and goes to talk to some of the other aristocrats.

"What do you want to do?" Nicholas asks David after a few moments.

"How about I introduce you to some of my other friends?" David offers. He leads Nicholas to some of his fellow butlers he's met during his career.

While everyone else is talking, Xander stands still at the side, watching everyone with a wandering gaze, his mind never letting him stop on one thing long enough to take it in. Meanwhile, seeing Xander standing there by himself, Sir Daniel cautiously approaches him.

"Is everything alright, milord?" Sir Daniel asks.

"Oh, just pondering," Xander responds.

"If I may be so bold, what are you pondering?" Sir Daniel asks in return.

"I was just wondering how and who I'm going to replace Gunter with," Xander explains.

"Ah, I understand. It's hard to transition when you've lost a person that's very important to you. One often finds themselves with a sudden change they are unprepared to accommodate," Sir Daniel empathizes.

"Gunter was the only retainer I ever had. He and his methods are all I have ever known. I feel like another just wouldn't feel the same. Who would even be qualified enough?" Xander laments. Then he shakes his head and turns to Sir Daniel. "I'm sorry, this isn't like me at all."

"No, that's quite all right. Perhaps I can be of assistance. As far as someone similar in methods to Gunter, I cannot say who would fit that criterion. However, I do have a strong recommendation for a highly qualified person." he suggests.

"Is that so?" Xander says.

"Absolutely," Sir Daniel assures. "Look over there." He points toward David and Nicholas talking with other guests. Nicholas has perfect posture and a kind smile on his face. "See the young boy standing over there next to my butler? His name is Nicholas. He has been apprenticing under David for quite some time now and I can say with absolute certainty that there has never been a boy his age more qualified than him for a high position such as your retainer. I could rave for hours about his cooking alone."

Xander peers at Nicholas from across the cemetery. "How old is he?" he asks Sir Daniel.

"Well, as he has just finished his apprenticeship, he is just about 17 years old, milord,"

"Ah, yes. Of course," Xander realizes. "That is quite young, though. You would vouch for him?"

"Yes I would, milord," Sir Daniel assures.

Xander watches for a little bit longer as Nicholas, looking hearty and healthy in the sunlight, very politely shakes the hand of the person he just finished talking to and follows David to another group of people.

"I shall consider it," Xander says conclusively.

"That is all I ask, milord. I would not want to force a decision on you," Sir Daniel replies as he leaves to participate in other activities.

Then Xander ponders to himself, "Perhaps it would be worth it to consider him. His youth could lend well to the job. I think I'll need a second opinion though. I guess it's time to redeem a favor." Soon enough, throughout the rest of the funeral to the commencement of it, Xander forms a plan in his head.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading! Boy did I change a lot of stuff in revision here. Hope you enjoyed this beginning. More to come soon!**_

 _ **P.S. If you could vote on the poll on my profile that would really help for future stories of mine. Thanks! I appreciate it.  
**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**A/N I wonder how long I can keep up this semi-regular uploading schedule. Start placing your bets now. :)**_

 _ **Hope you all are enjoying this story! I can't wait till we get to my favorite parts. *leaves***_

 _ **...*slowly pokes head back around the corner* andjustanothinghumbleremindertopleasevoteonmypollthanksbyenow. *leaves again***_

* * *

Chapter 2

Back at the castle, Xander ponders over Sir Daniel recommendation of Nicholas. He knows Sir Daniel to be a fair evaluator of character and skill, but he can't quite bring himself to hire Nicholas on one person's word alone. So, he decides on a plan.

Xander searches the records for another short-staffed noble in need of another butler. He comes across the name of Sir Timothy, an advisor of King Garon before the end of his reign. Xander decides to pay him a visit.

Sir Timothy is sitting at his desk writing a letter when he hears a knock on his door. He sets his quill down and heads to the door to see Xander standing there.

"Ah! King Xander! A pleasure to see you here today," Sir Timothy says, ushering Xander inside to sit in the parlor. "May I inquire as to the reason behind your unexpected visit today?"

"Nothing major," Xander says, sitting down in a velvet chair next to Sir Timothy. "I've simply come to redeem a favor."

"Anything for you, my king. What shall I do for you?" he asks.

"Well, as you have no doubt heard, my retainer Gunter passed away just three days ago..." Xander begins.

"Ah, yes. So very unfortunate," Sir Timothy consoles.

"Yes, it is," Xander responds quietly.

"Perhaps there's something I can do for you?" the other man offers.

"Actually, that's why I came here," Xander explains. "Even though I don't really enjoy it but especially because I'm kind now…" he pauses. "I should find a new butler to help me."

"Would you like me to start looking for someone?" Sir Timothy asks.

"Yes. I have been given a recommendation for a young boy who has just finished his apprenticeship. I trust the recommendation, but I'd like you to evaluate him yourself. I was wondering if you would be willing to take him in for a while and report to me about your opinion of him."

"Why, I would be delighted to do that for you. I do love the spirit of youth. When should he begin?" Sir Timothy asks.

Xander thinks for a moment. "If it's not too sudden, I suppose I should be able to send a letter today and he can start the day after tomorrow."

"That would be fine. It will be nice to have company for a change," Sir Timothy comments.

"Thank you very much. Expect Nicholas to show up sometime the morning of the day after tomorrow."

"I shall do so."

"Thank you very much," Xander says. With nothing else to do, he gets up. "I suppose I shall be leaving now."

"It was a pleasure to have you here, my king."

Without another word, Xander leaves and returns to the castle to write the letter.

* * *

Waking up the next day, Nicholas finds he has a strange sense of restlessness. After waking up very early every morning for so many years, not being required to do anything leaves him feeling purposeless. At least he'll get to look for a job today. Except for the fact that that aspect of the day leaves with a whole new sense of anxiety. Will anyone like him? Is he qualified enough? He knows David would say so, but still, a healthy apprehension lingers.

After getting dressed, he leaves his room to find David in the hallway outside. "Ah, Nicholas! Good to see you! Are you off to find a job today?"

"Most definitely. It makes me both excited and nervous at the same time. I hope I can find someone who will take me," Nicholas says, bouncing ever so subtly on his heels.

"Well, I wish you luck. But before you go, a letter was dropped off this morning." David holds up an envelope, peering at the address. "It's addressed directly to you. I suggest you read it before you go. It might be quite important."

Nicholas curiously takes the letter with no idea what to expect. He has never gotten a letter addressed directly to him that wasn't from his parents before, and the writing doesn't look like either of theirs. He opens it very carefully and pulls the sheet from inside.

 _Dear Nicholas Hogan,_

 _You have been requested to fill a temporarily open position as a butler for Sir Timothy. You will not be required to stay more than two weeks as this is only temporary. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity._

 _If you choose to accept, please go to at Sir Timothy's house tomorrow to begin._

Nicholas looks on both sides of the paper for a sender, but can't find one. He quickly reasons it to simply be a generically formed letter and focuses on the content. He hasn't even gone anywhere and already is getting a job offer. How often does that happen?

"What does it say?" David asks, curiosity bubbling up inside him.

"It's a job offer!" Nicholas half-shouts in barely controlled excitement. "If I want the job, I can start tomorrow!"

"My word! That's amazing!" David actually does shout, taking Nicholas in his arms and giving him big hug. "Clearly you must be more famous than I thought."

"I guess so," Nicholas agrees. "This is going to be fun! My first job… Oh! I'd better get going if I want to be prepared." He grabs a bag and heads out the door. "I'm going shopping. See you later!" he shouts as he rushes out the back door.

"You haven't even eaten breakfast!" David shouts after him, but Nicholas doesn't hear him. David just smiles. "He's going to be one hungry boy when he gets back," he mutters to himself, then goes back to work.

The first thing Nicholas does is drop his apron off at a tailor to be ironed. Even though he just had it done a week before, Nicholas can't help but want everything to be perfect for his first day. Then, while he waits for his apron be finished, he heads to the food stalls to get ingredients for meals. He finds his personal favorite spices and meat for a meal that would be fit for the king. He visits many other stalls stocking up on supplies and utilities. Subconsciously, in the back of his mind, he imagines he's preparing for a new job as Xander's butler, evaluating everything he buys to make sure it's in the best shape possible. By the time he finishes, it's late afternoon and Nicholas hasn't even eaten all day. He returns to his bedroom and puts all of his supplies away for the next day and heads to the kitchen to find something to eat. David is there preparing dinner ready for Sir Daniel.

"I bet you're famished," David comments to him as Nicholas grabs an apple from a basket and takes a large bite out of it.

"Oh you bet," Nicholas says. A speck of apple flies from his mouth. He wipes his mouth. "I just can't sit still, though!"

"Well, don't run all your energy out today. I'm almost done cooking dinner so if you can wait just a bit longer, we'll eat together and then you can go to bed early so that tomorrow comes faster."

"Alright!" Nicholas agrees, but instead of sitting still, he instinctively starts helping David finish dinner. David just smiles.

After dinner, Nicholas tries to go to sleep, but instead he just lies on his back looking at the ceiling. Too many thoughts are rushing around in his head like a swarm of locusts. For example, he frequently worries about how well his new employer will like him and how he can do his best tomorrow. But one particular thought frequently resurfaces - Who sent the letter? It was written like someone else wrote it besides Sir Timothy but he couldn't imagine why. For a few more hours, Nicholas wanders between his room, the hallway, and the kitchen mulling over everything before he finally feels tired enough to fall asleep. Nicholas drifts off into a very light sleep, still thinking about what tomorrow will bring.

* * *

Sir Timothy's stretches and opens his eyes, enjoying the comfort of his bed. Just another morning for him. But after a short time, he remembers that Xander told him that Nicholas would show up today, so he gets up to prepare for him.

He takes his time getting washed and dressed and wanders into the kitchen to make breakfast. Except someone is already there.

"Good morning!" Nicholas greets Sir Timothy while cooking some sausage. Sir Timothy just stands in the doorway shocked.

"Why are you here?" he finally asks after fishing for something to say.

Nicholas pauses. "I thought you wanted me as a butler."

"Well, yes. I guess what I meant was, why are you already here?"

Nicholas's smile returns. "A butler's day always starts very early. This certainly is no different and I'd like to start by cooking you breakfast. How do you like your sausage done?"

"Um, medium please," he answers after a brief thought. Nicholas returns to cooking.

"Where did you get the sausage? I haven't had that in a long time," Sir Timothy questions.

"Oh I bought it yesterday when I got the letter about this job," Nicholas explains.

After processing the situation a little bit longer, Sir Timothy steps out of his daze. "Well, I should say I am glad to see you are very dedicated. Sorry for acting like a fool at first. I just wasn't expecting you this early," he explains.

"No worries. Breakfast is almost ready so if you want to sit down, I will be along shortly," Nicholas offers.

"I shall do so. Thank you, Nicholas." Sir Timothy agrees.

Nicholas brings in Sir Timothy's breakfast which consists of, in addition to the sausage, a unique meal he invented himself; a slice of buttered toast with a hole cut out of the middle and an egg fried in place of it.

"Oh, this is unique. I've never had this meal before," Sir Timothy compliments.

"It's something I made up. I like cooking and frequently come up with my own dishes," he explains.

Sir Timothy takes a bite. "Oh, this is delicious! This egg is just the right consistency and the bread is nice and crispy."

"Thank you for the compliments, milord," Nicholas responds, smiling brightly. He stands by at the ready till Sir Timothy finishes his meal.

"Well, already I can say I am very glad you accepted this position. I'm not that much different from anyone else so I'd just like to see how you would perform with normal tasks," Sir Timothy explains.

"That would be my job, sir," Nicholas assures

Sir Timothy laughs. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"I just one more question," Nicholas starts. "Where do you put your laundry?"

"Ah, right. Let me show you around," Sir Timothy offers.

The day proceeds like any other day Nicholas is accustomed to, leaving him feeling quite confident about his situation. He washes the laundry, cleans rooms, accompanies Sir Timothy on a business trip to the capital, and cooks him the meal he prepared beforehand (which Sir Timothy couldn't get enough of). Overall, Nicholas enjoys himself immensely, and when the day is over, feels a great sense of pride at completing his first day at an official job.

Before going to bed, Nicholas pulls out a piece of parchment paper to write to David about his day, his mind racing with ideas on what to write.

 _Dear David,_

 _I figured if I didn't write to you as soon as possible you would hunt me down and scold me, so here I go._

 _Today was incredible. You have no idea how good it felt to be to be on the first day of my first official job. I guess I just like being responsible for something. It makes me feel like I have a purpose in life._

 _Sir Timothy is very nice. I think the fact that he loves my cooking has something to do with it. He only gave me small tasks today but I did accompany him into the capital today._

 _I hope you aren't completely helpless without me there. But I only jest, I know you are perfectly capable. In the meantime, I shall be working here for as long as I am needed, so you need not worry about me._

 _Best Wishes, Nicholas_

Nicholas seals the envelope, sets it aside to mail in the morning, and goes to bed feeling very pleased with himself.

Meanwhile, Sir Timothy sits down to write a letter of his own, needing no further proof whatsoever.

 _Dear Xander,_

 _After only one day, I can say with absolute certainty that whoever recommended Nicholas clearly knew what he was talking about._

 _He is everything that a butler should be. First of all, he works extremely diligently. Whatever I asked him to do today, no matter how trivial it seemed, he immediately worked on and finished in no time. He cooks with the experience of a master chef. When on my visit to the capitol, he never once let his guard down, even when it was clear that nothing would happen._

 _He is also very respectful. He speaks very politely, purposefully, and never out of turn. He never argued once or complained in the slightest today, which I appreciate very much._

 _But most importantly, he is cheerful. When he found him in my kitchen in the morning, he greeted me very cordially with a sincere smile. In fact, I don't think he stopped smiling around me the entire day, except on our ride to the capitol during which he was too focused to smile, which is also a good thing._

 _I leave the final decision to you, but I too recommend Nicholas. I'm sure he would please you very much._

Sincerely, Timothy Abney


	4. Chapter 3

_**A/N: EEEP I've already failed on trying to upload consistently. It may or may not have to do with the fact that the Nintendo Switch came out a week ago and it may or may not have to do with me getting it and Breath of the Wild and it may or may not have to do with the fact I've probably played over 25 hours in one week and it may or may not have to do with the fact that I have an obsessive compulsion to investing everything I possibly can in that game (except places that have enemies that kill me in one hit...). ... ... ...I'm going to blame it on that fact that my Creative Writing teaching took my notebook for two weeks to read and grade it. Yeah, that's it. (It really did happen though...)  
**_

 _ **ENJOY AND PEACE OUT! I'm going to play Breath of the Wild.**_

 _ **P.S., oh yeah, I added something to my note on the first chapter. Followers should read that. It's kind of important.**_

* * *

Chapter 3

The next day begins and proceeds as another typical day for Nicholas. Nothing special and nothing bad happens at all, but Nicholas enjoys it. Helping people is what he likes to do, and he enjoys the company of Sir Timothy. Pretty soon in the day, his mind relaxes and falls back into his comfortable out routine.

Xander receives the letter Sir Timothy wrote later in the day. Reading it piques his curiosity about Nicholas even further. Now he has an overwhelmingly positive recommendation from someone he knows quite well in addition to the one from Sir Daniel. That's enough for him to make up his mind. Xander decides to see Nicholas himself. He writes a summons to his throne room for Nicholas and has it sent off to be delivered the following morning.

Nicholas brings out Sir Timothy's dinner from the kitchen and pours him a small glass of wine.

"Thank you very much, Nicholas," Sir Timothy says.

"It is my pleasure, sir," Nicholas responds. Nicholas turns around to return to the kitchen but Sir Timothy stops him.

"The dishes can wait, Nicholas. Here, sit with me today. I want to talk to you," Sir Timothy offers.

"Oh! Are you sure?" Nicholas asks, surprised.

"Yes, I am sure. Enjoy your dinner here."

Nicholas sits down quietly, sitting up straight. "What do you wish to talk to me about?"

"I was simply curious," Sir Timothy starts, "about why you wanted to be a butler. It is definitely not a job for everyone, but you do it so well. It must have taken a long time. Why did you want to do it?"

Nicholas had never told anyone really why he was a butler because no one has ever asked him. He's slightly embarrassed about telling it, but can't find any unselfish reason not to. "To tell the truth, there was a time where I was very tempted to quit my apprenticeship."

"Really?" Sir Timothy asks, surprised.

"Yes, sir. My parents were both servers. They did it because they were fiercely loyal to King Garon and because they felt it was their duty to help the kingdom. So, when they had me, naturally they wanted me to follow in their footsteps. At first, when I was very young, I did respect King Garon and enjoyed following my mentor, David, around. Then, when Garon suddenly turned on the Hoshidans, I lost respect for him. Until then, I was like my parents; becoming a butler because I was told it was good for the kingdom. When Garon lost my respect, I didn't feel being a butler was worth it at all. I guess after that…well…"

Nicholas stops for a moment and drops his gaze. Sir Timothy notices this and assures, "You don't have to be cautious around me, Nicholas, but if it's not something you want to share, I won't press you."

"Well, I guess it's just that I've never been asked why I'm a butler before, and the more I think about it, the more it seems silly to me, but I shouldn't have to hide it," Nicholas explains. "The reason I kept going was because of Xander becoming king."

Sir Timothy glances up from his food to look at Nicholas, pausing slightly. Nicholas doesn't see him as he is still staring down slightly, lost in thought.

"When he became king, I saw someone who truly believed in the good of the kingdom; someone who was fair and strived for true peace, not to conquer other kingdoms. That's how I regained my old passion." A smile creeps onto his face. "I was such an ambitious child. I remember declaring to my parents that day that I wanted to be Xander's butler someday."

"Is that no longer true?" Sir Timothy asks.

Nicholas thinks hard. "It's not very realistic," he ends up responding, not wanting Sir Timothy to think he isn't devoted to his current job.

Nicholas stares at Sir Timothy's expression to see how he reacts and notices the faintest of smiles on his lips. This confuses Nicholas but he doesn't show it.

Sir Timothy sets down his utensils as he finishes his meal. "Well, it is getting late and I think I shall retire to bed. I suggest you do too Nicholas. You never know what a new day will bring." Sir Timothy smiles warmly at him. Nicholas quickly gets up to clear and wash the dishes, promptly forgetting Sir Timothy's words. He then goes to bed without a clue to the events unfolding.

* * *

Waking up early has never been a problem for Nicholas. Over the years he's developed a habit of deep sleep to make up for waking up early. To him, rising at 6:30 in the morning is completely normal. But now with an official job, everything feels different, yet at the same time, exactly the same. By the time he finishes breakfast, Sir Timothy is waiting at the table. "Good morning!" Sir Timothy greets.

Nicholas smiles back warmly, happy that Sir Timothy greeted him first. "Good morning to you too, sir!" he responds.

Nicholas sets down the breakfast he just prepared and starts to return to the kitchen.

"Oh, hold on just a moment. Before you get too settled in today, a letter arrived this morning. I suggest you read it."

An odd sense of deja vu crosses Nicholas's mind. Two letters in three days. It seems weird, but perhaps his life is just getting better.

Nicholas opens the letter and reads it to himself. His eyes widen and he almost drops the letter in a mild, nervous panic.

 _Nicholas Hogan_ _has been summoned to appear before King Xander in the throne room at_ _4:00p.m._ _today. Promptness is appreciated and lateness is not tolerated._

 _-Xander_

A summon from the king himself? Immediately his brain turns to the worst possible scenario. Absolute dread fills his emotional capacity since he had worked to be able to impress Xander, and now he must have done something to be at fault with him.

"Are you alright?" Sir Timothy asks, seeing the terror in Nicholas's eyes.

"It's a summons to the throne room to appear before the king. It's quite a surprise, honestly. I can't think of any pleasant reason for this," Nicholas explains.

Sir Timothy almost explains what the summons is really about to reassure Nicholas, but keeps quiet. If Xander didn't explain, it wasn't his place to either.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Sir Timothy decides to say instead. "In any case, don't worry yourself too much about your chores today. Take some time to prepare and get there early. You wouldn't want to keep the king waiting." Nicholas just smiles weakly and excuses himself.

He returns to his quarters to pack for the short trip into the capital feeling quite unhappy with himself. A nagging voice tells him that he's being slightly irrational but the fact that he can't think of a good reason to be summoned pushes that voice away.

Sir Timothy lends a horse to Nicholas to get to the capital. It's not far, but it's much easier to ride a horse than weaving through people on foot. He slides the summons letter into his bag and sets off, turning to wave back to Sir Timothy so he won't worry about him. Nicholas takes a deep breath and forces his worry into his subconscious for the time being so he can enjoy the ride as much as possible.

* * *

The capital is much busier than the neighborhoods on the fringes of town that Nicholas is used to. People mill about everywhere on the streets, around their houses, and in the shops. The noise of the crowds only adds to Nicholas's stress level. If he didn't have a horse to ride, Nicholas probably wouldn't make it to the castle on time. Quicker than he would like, Nicholas arrives at the front gates to the castle.

Immediately Nicholas notices its massive size. The castle is way bigger than he thought from seeing it farther away. Its stone black walls and towers stretch high into the sky, seemingly willing Nicholas to turn away. He suppresses his nervousness and rides up to the two guards standing on both sides of the gate.

"Halt!" the guards yell as Nicholas rides up to them. "State your name and business," one of them orders.

"Nicholas," he states and pulls out the letter from his bag. "I was summoned here by the king."

The guard to his right takes the letter from his hand and looks at it, then shows it to the other guard.

"I suppose you can pass, but it's odd there's no reason for the visit listed here. Do you have any idea why this was sent to you?" the guard asks.

"I have no idea," Nicholas says, shrugging his shoulders.

The guard shrugs too and starts cranking the gate open. "I suppose you'll find out soon enough. Put your horse in the stables and then go up the front doors. Present that letter to the doorman and he'll let you in. Once you're inside, go up the right staircase to the second floor and through the first door you see. Down that hallway at the very end is the king's quarters. The king will be waiting for you there."

Nicholas smiles and rides past them. As soon as he is out of sight, his smile returns to a straight line.

The stables are large and well-kept with lush, green fields nearby for the horses to graze in. The horses inside are immaculately groomed and have an air of superiority with their heads held high. Nicholas gives his horse - while still well taken care of, it's not quite as pampered - a sympathetic pat before giving him to the stable hand. Then he walks up to the gate, shows the doorman his letter, and walks into the castle foyer.

It's huge.

The foyer is part of five different floors of the castle, and when Nicholas cranes his neck up to look at the ceiling, he can see workers on the highest floor balcony. Large black marble pillars hold up the crescent-shaped second-floor balcony. Between the pillars, more doors lead to hallways that in turn lead deeper into the castle. A wide staircase sticks out in the middle that goes up to large, solid oak, and intricately carved double doors that he assumes leads to the throne room.

The room makes him instantly less confident. His whole body seems to increase in temperature, and if it weren't for the fact that not showing up for a summons could be considered treason, Nicholas considers going back home. It feels so out of place to be there.

The staircase the guard mentioned zigzags straight up to connect all of the floors up to the very top, and Nicholas is thankful he doesn't have to climb all the way. The polished chocolate colored wood railing feels smooth as he climbs up to the second floor. When he gets there, a simple door is right in front of him. He quietly goes through.

Nicholas starts walking down a long and wide hallway stretches out before him, its distance likely exaggerated by Nicholas's imagination. Only five doors are present, though, and at the very end is the largest door; the one leading into to Xander's room. A table and chair sit off to the side, presumably for people waiting. He looks at the clock on the table. 3:50; ten minutes left. Instead of sitting in the chair, Nicholas paces in front of the door, running through every possible question that could be asked, and the best possible answer to respond with.

Ten minutes pass in no time. As soon as the clock hits four o'clock, not a second earlier or later, Nicholas lifts the brass knocker and lets it fall. The resulting bang jolts him out of his stupor. Nicholas stares at the door. "Enter!" a deep commanding voice calls out from the other side of the door.


	5. Chapter 4

_**A/N No excuses, I just got lazy and unmotivated, but I've finally settled on a path. I promise I will try get another chapter out every other week. This is probably the shortest chapter in the whole story. Don't worry, they get longer as it goes on, especially near the end.  
**_

 _ **P.S. I'm currently OBSESSED with Fire Emblem: Heroes. Loving it so much. I haven't missed playing it a single day since release. If anyone wants to PM me about it, I'd love to chat. I'm always curious about which characters other people have and what team they use.**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Special shout out to Coral the Leviathan for being my first identifiable reviewer (besides my editor/best internet friend. XD). Please don't be too mad if I don't quiiiite characterize everyone the way you guessed... :P**_

* * *

Chapter 4

Cautiously, Nicholas opens the door just wide enough to fit through without reducing his body mass to slip inside.

Immediately, Nicholas takes in every little detail about Xander's room. The first thing he sees is the carpet. A thick layer of soft, deep purple carpet covers the entire floor with thin gold trim on the edges. Assorted rich mahogany furniture sits on the carpet as well as a floor to ceiling bookcase holding more books than Nicholas has ever seen in his life, a king size bed with a deep purple comforter on top that includes the kingdom's crest woven in gold thread, and a large writing desk strewn with papers and letters. Xander sits at the desk staring at a book and writing something on a thick piece of parchment paper. Nicholas brushes his clothes and straightens his posture.

Xander sets his feather pen down, turns to look at Nicholas, and smiles. The smile isn't too big, or too small, it just simply says "hello". " _How dare he smile at me now…"_ Nicholas thinks as Xander gets up to walk over to him.

"Hello," Xander greets Nicholas. "Thank you for coming on such short notice; I apologize for that. Please sit down. I would like to talk to you." He motions toward two chairs facing each other with a small table in between. Nicholas nods, walks stiffly over to the chairs, and sits down in the one closest the door. His hands find themselves fidgeting with a string on his clothes.

Xander sits down too in a fashion only a king could; completely confident and without mistakes. After setting a sheet of paper on the table, he looks up at Nicholas's eyes which are staring dead at him, not daring to wander elsewhere. Xander begins to speak.

"I'm sorry!" Nicholas blurts out before anything can be said. Xander stops with his mouth barely open. "Excuse me?" he says after a moment.

"I'm sorry for what I did…" Nicholas says solemnly.

Xander starts eyeing him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"Well, I certainly haven't done anything spectacular, so the only thing I can think of to constitute a summons from you, the king, is that I've done something wrong. I assure you, I did not do it with the intentions of doing anything bad but sometimes I can be a little forgetful…I'm so sorry!" Nicholas stammers out rapid fire.

Xander just stares. Then smiles. And even starts chuckling slightly. Then he returns to his normal kingly look.

Nicholas's brain can't compute the reaction immediately and he also just stares, though with a slightly less flattering expression.

"My, you're a nervous fellow," Xander comments. "I can see you've thought this through _very_ thoroughly, but you haven't accounted for every possible outcome. There's nothing you've done wrong at all. I hope that will calm you down."

Nicholas's eyes brighten to a high degree for a moment, but he regains his well-rehearsed composure quickly. "Why have you called me then?"

Xander simply answers, "I have a job for you."

Nicholas's heart rate rises dramatically. "What job?"

"Well, since Gunter passed away, I am in need of a new butler. Are you interested in such a position?"

Internally, Nicholas shouts, " _Interested? You have no IDEA…"_ and he almost blurts it out loud. Instead, focusing on years of training on simply acting professional, he replies with a very polite, "I certainly would."

"Good, glad to hear that," Xander replies. He picks up the paper he previously set in front of him. "I have here a letter from Sir Timothy about your skills as a butler…"

" _Wait, he has a letter from Sir Timothy? Were they in cahoots?"_ Nicholas realizes.

"...and I want to ask you myself about a few things," Xander continues. "It says here you work extremely diligently. Now, as the butler to the king, your tasks will undoubtedly be much more important. Are you prepared to work very hard?"

"Working hard is what a butler is supposed to do. I am fully prepared for that," Nicholas assures. Xander's eyebrows raise incrementally.

"He also says you cook professionally," Xander continues.

"I have always had a fascination with culinary arts and spent a lot of time perfecting my skills in that area. Food is an art to me."

Xander still just stares at Nicholas. Nicholas hopes he just isn't showing his approval of Nicholas's cooking expertise.

"I suppose the most important thing I have to ask you if you are going to be my butler is your ability to fight and defend. The king can be a big target," Xander continues.

Nicholas starts to verbally explain but then gets an idea. "Why don't I show you?"

" _This should be good,"_ Xander thinks.

"Do you have a target?" Nicholas asks.

Xander ponders about what to use for a little bit. "Just a moment," he says after deciding. Xander goes to one of the china cabinets and takes an old teacup out from a cupboard below. After handing Nicholas a standard shuriken, he goes to the opposite side of the room and holds it up to the wall, the bottom facing Nicholas. "I want you to hit the handle. Not a scratch on the rest of it."

Nicholas's palms sweat ever so slightly from nerves as he stands up. He eyes the target across the room on the back wall; about fifty feet away. He takes a deep breath. Then, quick as a flash, his fingers working on almost solely habit, he deftly flings the shuriken at the teacup. It hits right where the handle meets the cup and breaks it clean off, but nothing on the cup is touched.

Xander visibly flinches. His shock and amazement are also clear on his face. "That's incredible."

Nicholas beams with pride. "I'm very glad to hear that, milord."

Xander takes the cup back to the table, still staring at the clean break.

"Anything else you would like to inquire about?" Nicholas asks.

Xander sets down the cup and looks at Nicholas. " _It's a little earlier than I would like, but I do need a butler…"_ Xander thinks to himself.

"No, there is nothing else, except to say that I have decided to hire you as my butler. That is if you want the job," Xander says to Nicholas.

Nicholas could swear angels start singing inside his head. "I'm so glad I have pleased you, milord! I promise I will never let you down."

Xander's face sours ever so slightly. "I shall count on that." Nicholas doesn't notice the change. "If it is alright with you, I'd like for you to start right away. I will have someone return your horse to Sir Timothy and alert him of the recent news. Is that alright?"

Start now? The whirlwind of events is getting to be a lot for Nicholas. "I suppose so, milord. If that is what you wish. I am now your butler after all. A butler should be available at all possible times."

"Good. I will be back momentarily. In the meantime, stay here, and I will soon be back to show you to the staff's quarters and where you will be staying. Excuse me," Xander asserts and leaves the room. Nicholas has a mental celebration when he shuts the door, but doesn't dare move.

Xander heads down the stables, thinking to himself in the hallway. With a solemn look on his face, he says to no one in particular, "I hope you know I haven't forgotten you, Gunter. I could never do that."

He continues on with an expressionless face.


	6. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Got this one out quickly! Chapters will be uploaded from here on out semi-dependent on how popular this gets, but it should be around a week between chapters barring emergencies or vacations.**_

 _ **Thank you very much everyone and to the ever patient prowessMaster44. Enjoy!**_

* * *

~Chapter 5~

Xander only leaves for a few minutes, but for Nicholas, the waiting feels like an eternity. It's not good to leave an excited person alone in a room with just their thoughts for company.

For a few moments, such an abundance of thoughts are mixed together that even he can't figure out what to set his mind on. " _What will Xander be like? What will the working conditions be like? I'm Xander's butler now! What will the co-workers be like? I'm Xander's butler now! Wow, this room is big. I wonder who else I'll meet in the castle now. I'm Xander's butler now!"_

Nicholas starts to feel a little overwhelmed. Then he remembers the bookcase he saw when he came in. He decides to look at the books. In his childhood, he never had many books of his own, instead reading whatever he could find around Sir Daniel's home.

Nicholas walks up to the bookcase. Most of the books end up being about the art of combat and politics. Not extremely interesting to Nicholas, but it's the only thing that looks interesting there, and he desperately needs something to distract his mind. Carefully, he pulls out a small red book, brushes the dust off, and carefully pries open the thin pages.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting. If you're ready, I believe now would be a good time to show you where…" Xander starts as he returns to the room. In a flash of panic, Nicholas slams the book shut and shoves it back into the bookcase and whirls around to face him. For the second time this afternoon, Xander just stares.

" _Never liked those books very much anyway,"_ Xander thinks to himself. He then proceeds out loud. "Anyway, if you'll follow me, I'll take you down to the staff's quarters." He motions for Nicholas to come with him. Nicholas quickly walks over, and Xander takes them out into the hallway.

"Now, the two doors on the left–right when you come in the hallway–are Camilla and Elise's rooms. The first door on the left is Leo's room. The important one for you is the door not too far away from my room," Xander explains opening a wide door a few feet from them, revealing a large stairway winding downwards. Faint sounds of chatter echo up the staircase.

"Come, let me show you around," Xander says, motioning for Nicholas to follow him as he starts down the stairs. Nicholas follows close behind.

The stairs go down quite a ways; at least two stories worth. The farther down they go, the more sounds Nicholas hears. Finally, they reach another set of big double doors. Now the noises coming from inside are quite prominent.

"Here are the staff quarters," Xander says as he pushes open the doors.

For the somethingth time that day (Nicholas has lost count), he just stands there in amazement.

Now when he thought about a job at the castle before, he didn't picture it being entirely grand. He never had a very large living space serving for private households and didn't expect one in the castle. He knew it would be different, though since everything is ten times more royal.

But nothing could have prepared him for this.

The room that the doors open to is a stunningly massive lounge/work area, and even farther back, rows and rows of dining tables. The lounge area in itself surprises Nicholas, but the couches and tables are way more than he ever would expect to be in a staff's quarters for a castle. Of course, not many people he sees running about actually used the couches to relax; they are more of just a comfortable place to carry out the tasks given to them. Plenty of people are also eating at the tables.

At first, when they walked through the door, everyone was bustling about, as busy as they are expected to be. But as Nicholas takes in everything that he sees, people start looking towards the contrasting pair. Clearly, none of them pay any attention to Nicholas; he looks like he belongs there. Everyone stands at attention to Xander. People walking into the room from adjacent ones stop immediately. A king in the staff quarters certainly sticks out. Everyone stops what they're doing and stands as straight as possible which Nicholas finds akin to a forest of humans; tall and unwavering.

Xander laughs deeply but quietly. "You can continue, everyone. I'm just showing Nicholas around. Nothing exciting to see here," he assures. Despite being a direct statement from the king, people still hesitate to move again. Nicholas understands, though. Having the king in the room does something to one's nerves. Xander leads him further inside and shuts the doors behind them.

"This is the common room. It's for everyone employed here–which consists mostly of servers–to use. We have comfortable chairs and tables to work at, and it's always nice and warm down here in the winter. Feel free to work here with whatever I need you to do in the future," Xander states. The possibilities for productiveness swarm Nicholas's imagination. Having a comfortable place to work is the most important thing to him.

Xander leads him to the left. "Over here is the kitchen," he explains as he pushes open the thin doors, designed to be opened by someone with their hands full. A wonderful smell invades Nicholas's senses. He smells fresh bread and the sweet smell of pastries decorated with the finest icing. Fresh fruit being sliced on wooden cutting boards give a delightful citrusy smell. Shelves of spices and condiments line half of the left wall, all alphabetized (much to Nicholas's delight). Plenty of cast iron stoves, sinks, and counters are lined up throughout the room with cooks occupying various stations. It's an absolute heaven for Nicholas.

"...n't you, Nicholas?" Xander asks. Nicholas is so caught up in the marvels of this giant kitchen that he barely catches the end of Xander's question.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't catch your question. Could you please repeat it?" Nicholas apologizes, quite flustered. Xander chuckles.

"I was simply commenting that you will probably enjoy the kitchen, won't you. No need for a response, though, I can see your fascination," he explains. Nicholas stands up straighter, clearly embarrassed that Xander noticed his excitement.

"Since you will be spending a lot of time in here, why don't I introduce you to the head cook here? Her name is Teresa and she is very cordial to all staff members around. I'm sure you'll like her immediately," Xander offers. He leads Nicholas over to a short, plump woman with red hair and a rolling pin attached to her apron. Currently, she's organizing the massive shelves of spices.

"Good afternoon, Teresa," Xander greets her warmly. Teresa lets out a startled yelp, quickly places the jar in her hand, and turns around.

"Oh my stars, Xander, you frightened me! Nearly made me drop that jar o' pepper!" Teresa exclaims then bursts out in a hearty laugh. "Good to see you, though! Been awhile, hasn't it?"

Nicholas is shocked at her casual attitude. After all, she is talking to the king. Xander doesn't seem to mind, though; he even seems to expect it. " _They must be very good friends, then._ " Nicholas reasons.

"Yes, it has," Xander confirms. "Though I can't stay very long. I'd like to introduce you to Nicholas. He was recommended to me by a friend, and I've decided to hire him as my new butler. I'm just showing him around."

"Really! You lucky boy!" Teresa exclaims turning to address Nicholas. "Exciting to be the right-hand man to such an important man like the king, isn't it Nick?"

Nicholas flinches mentally. "Yes, I am very excited, but please just call me Nicholas. I'm not that fond of nicknames."

Teresa's seemingly constant smile frowns for a second. "Oh, poo. I am ever so fond of nicknames," she says. Then her smile returns just as bright as ever. "But what does it matter to me! I'll call you Nicholas if that's what you really want."

"Nicholas is quite the connoisseur of the culinary arts, so I would bet that you two will get along just splendidly," Xander comments.

"Is that so?" Teresa asks. Then she turns back to Nicholas with a deadly serious expression. "Brassica nigra!" she shouts.

"Black mustard seed," Nicholas returns almost immediately.

"OH! A boy after my own heart. This is going to be exciting!" Teresa exclaims. "You know, that's the first time anyone has ever gotten that right. I'm going to have to come up with an even harder one now…" she continues in a secretive whisper to just Nicholas. Then her voice increased to its normal boisterous level. "Well, I'd best be letting you two get on with your tour. Though do stop by some other time Nicholas to try some of my bread. It's a tradition for new recruits." Nicholas nods politely. Xander thanks Teresa for her time and takes Nicholas away.

Xander leans down to whisper to Nicholas. "Teresa is quite proud of her bread. It's famous throughout the castle and the surrounding town."

None of the other rooms that Xander shows Nicholas impress him as much as the kitchen, but they are all intriguing, nonetheless.

First, is the laundry room, which is located through the door in the back of the common room. This room is filled with large sinks for washing clothes, clotheslines for hanging them up to dry, and wicker baskets for carrying the clothes.

Through a door on the left side of the laundry room is a sewing room. Inside are cabinets full of materials, plenty of sewing machines, and clothes hangers aplenty boasting everything from undergarments to flowing robes.

Finally, Xander takes Nicholas to the final door on the right side of the common room. It's plain but very thick and heavily bolted. He turns the large metal handle and walks outside with Nicholas.

Outside, is a quaint, beautiful path lined with small flowers leading into the square in the distance with a fountain in the middle. All around the square are rows and rows of houses.

"This is where all of our staff lives. It has easy access to the castle and you're free to relax in the fields if you have some time off too," Xander explains.

Nicholas can't believe how nice it is to work at the castle. "This is all so much, milord. I don't know if I can thank you enough," he says.

"Well, I believe the staff is the life of the castle, so it's the best we can do. Why don't I show you your house so you can get good rest tonight?" Xander comments and smiles at Nicholas. Nicholas nods.

Xander leads him to the house right on the far edge of the square. The house is a slightly lighter shade of purple than the rest of the houses and is made of brick instead of stone. Xander fishes out two keys from his pocket. "This first key is the key to your house. If you happen to lose this, just tell me and I can get another one made from the blacksmith." He gives the first key to Nicholas. "This second key is the key to the door we came out. Under no circumstances are you to ever lose this key, do you understand?" Xander says very sternly.

"Yes, milord. I understand," Nicholas replies. Xander gives the second key to him.

"I'll expect you in the morning at seven then. Have a good night," Xander says then heads back to the castle. Nicholas relaxes his practiced professional pose slightly and heads inside his new house.

The interior is nice and cozy. In the main room is a chair and a low square table with a brick fireplace. A small private kitchen and kitchen table are adjacent to the living room in the back, and a small bedroom with a nice bed is to the right.

Normally Nicholas would take some time to look around more, but he is tired enough that he immediately goes to the bedroom, changes into the provided nightclothes, and promptly falls asleep. Tomorrow will be an interesting day.


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N: The more I reread what I wrote, the more I realize the subtle influence a certain TV show I love had over my story. Brownie point to anyone who can guess what it is.**_

 _ **Besides that, enjoy!**_

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Chapter 6

Nicholas sleeps very shallowly through the night in order to wake up on time to start the first day of the biggest day of his life. Nicholas wakes up the same as he would every other day. His habits kick in and he begins like he would usually by getting dressed. He turns to his left to open the drawer with his clothes in it...and finds a wall.

Just a wall there. Deep brown, plain yet elegant, but nonetheless, a wall. " _Wait, what?"_ Nicholas thinks to himself. Then everything comes back at once. The letter, the trip, the meeting, the tour, and finally the house. His house. His own, brand new house. Nicholas flips over in bed and looks at the miniature grandfather clock on the bedside table. Only 5:00. Much earlier than he thought. His mind must have subconsciously remembered what an important day it is. Nicholas takes a deep breath to calm his now panicking heart and begins to run through his new routine.

First: get dressed. Nicholas pulls his handmade apron and one of his undershirts out of his bag; one of the only things he brought with him. He slips them on and then puts the rest of the clothes away in the drawers of the bedside table, then steps back to take everything in. His room is quite nice, consisting of a very comfortable bed with a thick mattress and warm woven sheets. Next to it is a bedside table. On the bedside table is the miniature grandfather clock sitting on a small white doily, and on the front, two drawers to put clothes in. A full-length mirror hangs on the wall opposite the bed. Nicholas already starts to get ideas about how to decorate it even further. He heads out to the main room.

Nicholas takes the time to look closer at the room. The fireplace is the first thing he notices in more detail. The fireplace is lined with a black metal fence and already has a few small logs inside. The chimney is made of finely crafted and intricately placed brick. Nicholas shivers and finds some flint to start the fire.

After getting the fire started, he steps back and sits in the chair. He immediately melts with comfort. It's a plush chair, very unlike the wooden ones he is used to. It is extremely comfortable and seems to invite the sitter to stay there forever. Nicholas puts his feet up on the low table in front of the chair to warm them and sits back. " _What did I ever do to deserve this…"_ he ponders. His head tilts to the right where he sees the kitchen area.

Second: Make breakfast. Nicholas examines the cupboards above the sink and stove. He finds only a basket of fresh eggs and some simple spices to eat. He makes a mental note to visit the market later that evening. Opening another cupboard, he finds some pots and pans, a small stack of plates, and a few different types of glasses. He pulls out a cast iron pan and starts frying some of the eggs. Looking up, Nicholas notices something he didn't see when first walking in. Just in front of him is a large window between the overhanging cupboards and the stove. Out the window, he can see the town square, the ever-flowing fountain, the cobblestone walkways, the early risers taking a stroll before work, the path running through a beautiful meadow, and the castle in the distance. It is an incredibly beautiful view. Nicholas sits back in the chair and enjoys his eggs. After finishing, he checks the brass clock above the fireplace. 5:30. Plenty of time left. Nicholas continues his routine.

Third: Gather supplies for the day. At least, it would be third on a previously normal day, but normal has changed quite a bit. As Nicholas goes to find his sewing box and the other things he would normally keep in his room, he remembers that he doesn't need those anymore. Most of everything he would need are in the staff's quarters. Since there is still a lot of time left, Nicholas steps outside to explore.

The crisp morning spring air hits his face and brings color into his cheeks. Nicholas inhales and smiles. Not a single thing could make him happier. He wanders over to the stone edge of the fountain and sits down to observe. He watches a mother wave goodbye to her children, leaving them in the care of the grandmother while she goes off to the castle. He watches a boy just a little younger than him fumble with his house key, lock the door, look and round, and also head off to the castle. He watches a brother and sister chase each other around their house. It makes him smile. After enjoying the sunrise by the fountain for a while longer, he gets up and heads toward the castle to really start his day.

* * *

Nicholas walks up to the entrance door and fishes out the key from one of his hidden pockets. He unlocks the door and, remembering Xander's words, makes sure to put the key right back in the pocket and seal it up. Then he heads inside.

Despite still being in the early hours, the area is just as busy as his first visit yesterday. People are going in and out of the kitchen with trays of food for breakfast. Nicholas sees some people with clothes to be washed or mended, and people working at tables on individual unique projects. The clock on the wall reads 6:40. With the little time he has left, Nicholas decides to visit Teresa in the kitchen.

As soon as Nicholas walks through the door, Teresa looks up from her post and smiles brightly.

"Nicholas! How good to see you! I hope you slept well last night. You're going to need it for today."

Nicholas smiles back. "Thank you. I did sleep very well so I'm ready to tackle whatever the day may bring."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear about your day. It must be _so_ exciting to be the butler of the king! He may be intimidating, but he is quite the friendly man once you get to know him," Teresa explains. "Just you wait. In a matter of days, you'll be chatting like old friends." She chuckles.

"Was that what it was like with Gunter?" Nicholas inquires.

"Oh, yes dear. Those two were great friends, despite Gunter being old enough to be his grandfather. I often found it very hilarious. Quite an unusual pair," Teresa rambles. She tilts her head up, seemingly reminiscing about old days.

"Well, I'll be off now, it was nice…" Nicholas starts as he turns to head to Xander's room.

"Just you wait a moment!" Teresa shouts, snapping back into reality. "Do you really think I'll let you leave again without trying my bread? You naughty boy…" she scolds, waving her finger at Nicholas. Then, smiling again, she slices a piece of fluffy golden brown bread from a cutting board beside her and hands it over the counter to Nicholas. "Eat! Don't keep me waiting!"

Nicholas takes a modest bite out of it. It's heavenly. It's so light and airy, but so rich and flavorful at the same time. "This is divine, Teresa! I can see why you are so well known for this," Nicholas compliments.

"Oh, now you're just flattering me. Shoo! Be off! Don't you have something to do?" She scolds jokingly, hitting Nicholas's behind with her rolling pin. Nicholas laughs and walks out the kitchen.

With not only a little bit of time left and nothing else he can think of doing downstairs, Nicholas heads up the stairs Xander led him down yesterday. The hallway upstairs is strikingly quiet. None of the royal family is up yet. Nicholas quietly opens the big doors to Xander's bedroom and slips inside.

Xander is still sleeping soundly when Nicholas walks in, but Nicholas starts right in on his work. He tiptoes over to the large chest of drawers and pulls the open one by one finding and memorizing the locations of Xander garments. He eventually finds everything Xander needs for the day and lays them out neatly on the chest at the foot of his bed. Next, Nicholas grabs a platter from the floor cabinets by the bed and sneaks back out the door and down to the kitchen again.

Quickly, Nicholas starts making his specialty, omelets. Just like he did on his last day at Sir Daniel's, Nhe seasons the eggs with fine black pepper (now in a neat little bottle for him right next to the black cumin and bourbon molasses) and adds little chunks of ham. Teresa hovers nearby watching and helping the rest of the staff in the kitchen, every so often shooting Nicholas a glance and giveing him a warm smile. He likes how cheerful and helpful Teresa is and makes sure to return the smile whenever he catches her eye.

Once his omelet is fried golden brown, he scoops it onto the platter, pours a glass of freshly squeezed apple juice, and carries the tray back upstairs to Xander's room. Xander is just finishing getting dressed in the clothes Nicholas laid out when he walks in.

"Good morning, milord! I trust you slept well," Nicholas greets cheerfully.

"Yes, very," Xander responds. "Good to see you up bright and early." He spots the platter in Nicholas's hand. "What have you got there?"

"My specialty, milord. Black pepper and ham omelets. Here, why don't you try it?" Nicholas suggests, setting down the platter on the table underneath the china shelves and pulling out the chair for Xander to sit down.

"Thank you," Xander says as he sits down. He takes a bit of the food in front of him. "This is very well made. I definitely taste the experience you have," he says after swallowing the bite.

"You're too kind, milord," Nicholas says bowing slightly.

"Am I?" Xander responds. Nicholas stays quiet. "Never mind the food for now, I have a few things you can work on while I am out and about on a few small visits. My cape snagged on a branch during a hunter trip this past week and I'm going to need it repaired before an assembly next week. If you could wash that and rest of my official outfit too, that would be appreciated."

"Whatever you wish, milord, I would be happy to oblige," Nicholas says. Xander looks up at him.

"Well, thank you for being so willing," Xander acknowledges. "I'll be sure to give you some time this afternoon to yourself. I'm sure you'll be wanting to find some personal things to decorate your new home with."

"Thank you so very much, milord. I'll start those tasks right away, though," Nicholas assures.

"Good. The clothes are in the chest. Good day, Nicholas," Xander says dismissing Nicholas. Nicholas bows and steps back to take out Xander's royal outfit and take it downstairs. He gives one final bow before exiting the room. Xander continues eating in silence for a bit. " _This really is fantastic…"_ He thinks to himself, savoring the deliciousness that is Nicholas's omelet.

Back in the hallway, Nicholas smiles happily to himself. " _So far, so good,"_ He muses.


	8. Chapter 7

_**A/N I am no longer going to pretend like I can upload regularly. I am a busy person, absent-minded, and forgetful. Bleh. Sorry. Enjoy a new chapter!**_

 _ **Also, when I wrote this story I was not aware that there was a character in Fire Emblem whose name was Abel. I just chose that name. Thanks for reading!**_

~Chapter 7~

Back in the staff's quarters, Nicholas heads straight for the sewing room. He finds an open station and lays the clothes out neatly on the table. Then he takes a look around.

There's more to the sewing room than he initially observed. Throughout the entire room are rows of racks running in between the rows of workstations with many articles of clothing hanging on clothes hangers. At the back of one wall are shelves of thread and a basket of needles. On another is a set of cabinets. Nicholas walks over to investigate and finds baskets of ribbon, lining, and other accessories for outlining elaborate clothes. Nicholas walks over to the shelves of thread and, holding up the cape for reference, picks a deep purple thread and returns to work.

He isn't even one stitch in before he hears Teresa's giddy, high-pitched, motherly voice call his name. "Nicholas! I've been looking for you," she calls running as fast as a woman her stature can over to Nicholas.

"Teresa! I saw you not ten minutes ago. What could you possibly need now?" Nicholas asks.

"Oh, I know that, but I just had to ask how your first visit on the job went. You're so cute when you smile like that you know. Makes me wish I had a son of my own. So, tell me!" Teresa urges.

Nicholas realizes he must have been smiling this whole time without knowing it and forces himself to stop in embarrassment.

"Really, I wasn't there for more than ten minutes. There isn't much to say," Nicholas says.

"Well, you did serve him breakfast. I saw you making your specialty. Come on, how did he like it? I simply must know. I am the cook after all. Don't keep me waiting!" Teresa spits out eagerly looking at Nicholas.

"He simply said it was very well made and that he could taste the experience I have," he answers.

"Oh, poo. I was hoping for something more exciting than that. He's usually more complementary. Oh, well! I guess I must get back to the kitchen. Don't want my muffins to burn, now do we. Ta ta, Nicholas!" Teresa says. She waltzes back toward the kitchen. Nicholas notices she's still carrying the rolling pin he's always seen her with before.

"Um, Teresa?" Nicholas calls. She turns around. "Do you always keep your rolling pin with you?" Nicholas questions.

Teresa cocks her head slightly and looks at him mischievously. "Does a puppy always keep its tail with it?" she states and then marches out the door. Nicholas laughs and looks back down at the torn cape.

It's only a simple tear in the corner. Easily fixed with the right expertise, but the trickiest part is repairing the lining. After examining the cape, Nicholas goes back to the cupboards to find the right material. On his way there, he notices a young boy working at a different station, slowly working a needle through the sleeve of a nightgown. Nicholas remembers the boy as the one he saw coming out of his house in the morning. The boy doesn't notice him. Nicholas takes what he needs and walks back.

The next time Nicholas glances up, he notices the boy watching him out of the corner of his eye. Nicholas keeps working steadily, but every few moment looks up, and every time he sees the boy watching again. Finally, he puts down the needle and thread, turns in his chair and motions for the boy to come over. He appears to jump and panic slightly as if he didn't realize Nicholas could tell he was watching him. Flustered, he puts down his nightgown and walks slightly clumsily over.

"Umm, did you need something, sir?" the boy asks. Nicholas tilts his head.

"While I am flattered, I don't think I deserve the title of sir. May I ask why you called me that?" he asks.

"Well, I know that you're the butler of King Xander and I just thought that it's kind of an important position and all so I just kind of...said sir. I guess," he mumbles.

"It isn't really that much of an important position, but it does come with a lot of responsibility. What's your position here?" Nicholas returns.

"Oh, I'm just a freelancer of sorts. My mother works here so I was allowed to work here because of that. I just kind of do whatever needs doing around here. Not really that interesting. Not like you." the boy answers.

"Well, importance is a very subjective thing," Nicholas assures. "Anyway, might I ask what your name is?"

"Abel. My name's Abel. My mom told me one I was named after a famous warrior, but I don't think I've lived up to that expectation." Abel explains.

"Don't think too much about expectation. The only expectation that matters is your own," Nicholas responds.

Abel smiles meekly. "Thanks," he says.

"My name is Nicholas, by the way," he offers.

"That's a neat name," Abel comments. "I think it fits you."

"Well, I'm glad you think so. That's very nice of you," Nicholas says. Then he asks, "What are you working on?"

"Oh, just a shirt that needs mending. I'm having a bit of trouble with it since I'm not much of a tailor," Abel responds dejectedly. Then his eyes brighten slightly. "Maybe you could help me? It would be an honor learning from you. You must be really good."

Nicholas smiles at the compliment. "Well, I would be glad to. Just let me finish up and I'll be right over."

"Oh, thank you so much! It'll be so much fun learning from you," Able says as he skips back to his station. He reminds Nicholas of himself when he was younger.

Nicholas and Able work together only for a little while, just long enough for Nicholas to help him get the hang of things. Abel seems much more interested in his work with Nicholas helping and catches on quite quickly. Abel chats the whole time too.

"How did you get to be in such a great position?" Abel asks after a while. Nicholas ponders that for a bit.

"I like to think of it as the result of a lot of hard work. It's been somewhat of a goal to work here since even before your age. But I think there was a little bit of luck involved too. Just being in the right place at the right time," Nicholas answers.

"You must be really lucky then," Abel comments while continuing to work on the torn sleeve. He pulls the needle through one last time. "There! How does that look?" he asks Nicholas.

"It looks wonderful. You can hardly see the stitch at all. See, all you needed was a little bit of instruction and you got it right away. You've got some real talent to you, too," Nicholas assures.

"Aww, thanks a bunch," Abel says.

"Not a problem. I'm going to the market for a little bit after dinner tonight. Perhaps you would like to join me?" Nicholas offers.

Abel's eyes widen. "Really? That would be amazing! Thanks a bunch!" he says excitedly. "I'd better get this nightgown delivered then. See you later!" He picks up the nightgown, throws it over his shoulder and skips off again. Nicholas watches his leave enjoying how upbeat he made Abel. It feels good to mean something to someone.

Nicholas goes to the kitchen, makes a quick lunch for himself and Xander, grabs the clothes and brings everything upstairs.

Xander is sitting at his desk writing when Nicholas walks in. "Ah, that was fast. Done before lunch already. You are very efficient," Xander comments.

"No sense wasting valuable time, really," Nicholas responds while neatly folding and putting away the clothes.

"How are you getting along with the rest of the staff?" Xander asks.

"Just splendidly, milord. Teresa is very friendly and we have become very quick friends," Nicholas explains.

"Ah, yes, Teresa. That woman has boundless energy. She's been here the longest of anyone. I remember her being here was I was very young. I used to sneak down and steal bread from her," Xander reminisces. Then, seeing the small smile forming on Nicholas's face he adds, "But that was in my youth, and I assure you I do not do that anymore."

"I would never assume that, milord," Nicholas assures. Xander raises his eyebrow.

"There was another boy I met just today, milord. His name is Abel. He's quite young, can get a little discouraged, but is very high spirited. Perhaps you know him?" Nicholas adds.

Xander frowns. "No, I can't say I have. He must be newer," he offers.

"I did get that impression," Nicholas says. Xander finishes what he was writing and puts his feather pen back in the ink jar. "Fortunate you are here now. I have a letter for you to deliver. Would you be willing to do that now?"

"I am always willing, milord, for that is my duty," Nicholas states.

Xander smiles. "Your parents have taught you manners well. It should not be too hard to find the address. Ask around if you don't quite know where it is." He gives the freshly sealed letter to Nicholas. "I will see you later tonight then. You are dismissed."

Nicholas takes the letter and bows as Xander leaves to another part of the castle. Nicholas takes his leave too and heads to the stables feeling very proud of himself.


	9. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Ok, now that the vacationing part of my summer is out of the way, I can get these out more frequently. This is one of the few chapters I'm really proud of and really like. I hope you all enjoy! And if you're so inclined, please review! I love hearing anything from those who read my story. Enjoy!_**

* * *

~Chapter 8~

The sun is just beginning its descent when Nicholas sets out to deliver the letter. He looks at the address for a moment and starts formulating a route in his head. Despite not moving around much in his childhood, he still has a good idea where everything is.

The house the letter is addressed to is located in the northeastern corner of the town. The shortest route would be to ride along the edge of town, but Nicholas decides to detour slightly and heads through the center of town to see it for himself. He nudges his horse into to trot.

Nicholas enjoys riding. The cool breeze ruffling his hair, the warm sun at his back, and the livelihood of the town all bring a smile to his face. It reminds him of the lessons he got from his dad in the fields by his childhood home.

It doesn't take long to reach the center of town and even less to know when he's near. The noises of busy people, extravagant vendors, and many horses reach his ears blocks away. The nearer he gets, the more polished the marble pavement becomes. Nicholas turns the final corner and gazes upon the open area.

It amazes him how much more lively Nohr is since King Garon's rule. A mix of people mill around the large, dark, cobblestone square. Many people are simply walking around; enjoying a day to themselves or with a partner, just taking in the fresh outdoor air. One side of the massive square is designated as a marketplace. Many stalls are lined in neat rows housing all manner of goods from fresh produce to handmade jewelry. As Nicholas slowly rides by, a few stalls catch his eye, and he memorizes their location to visit later. Finally, he examines the fountain in the middle. The fountain is outlined with dark purple marble, common in Nohr, with many people lounging on all sides. Except for its size, Nicholas notices that the one in his small town is designed exactly like the large one here. " _How clever of them to do that,"_ he muses to himself. He rides through all of this slowly until he comes out the other side and speeds up for the rest of the way.

When Nicholas arrives at the address, he efficiently ties the horse to the fence, pulls the letter out of the satchel on the horse's side, and walks up to the door. He gives three short, strong knocks. After a few seconds, a man in simple clothes opens the door.

"Why, hello there," the man greets. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a letter for you from King Xander," Nicholas responds and holds the letter out.

"Oh!" the man says surprised. "I did not recognize you so I did not think you would be delivering something. Thank you! I have been expecting this. What is your name?"

"My name is Nicholas, sir. I was recently hired as King Xander's butler and this is my first official day. I apologize if I have caused any inconvenience," Nicholas answers.

"Oh, not at all. Though I have to say, I am quite surprised to see someone of your age in such a high position," the man says. "You must be very skilled at your job and quite lucky too."

"I have practiced for many years preparing for such a job as this. I am very honored to have this position and I thank you for your compliment." Nicholas replies.

"You are so polite too!" the man says delightfully. "I think you fully deserve this. Must be very excited too for a boy your age to get to spend time with the king. Why, I find King Xander to be a wonderful role model. Don't you agree?"

"I agree wholeheartedly," Nicholas responds smiling. "If you will excuse me, sir, I should be returning."

"Oh, of course. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Enjoy the rest of the day." The man gives a short wave and retreats back into his house. Nicholas stands there for a second, thinking. He finds it amusing that two people have called him lucky in the same day. He doesn't believe in luck but rather the result of hard work and fortunate circumstances as a result of that work. Nicholas rides back peacefully.

Once back at the castle, Nicholas sets right to work preparing dinner, chatting with Teresa for most of the time. He finds it fun to have someone being so friendly to him. Abel also wanders through the kitchen at one point and Nicholas waves to him.

"Are you still going to the market after dinner?" Abel asks.

"Of course I am. I'll come down and get you soon," Nicholas assures.

"Thanks a bunch, sir!" Abel says then prances off. Nicholas laughs. It'll be a long time before he can get Abel to stop calling him sir. Time passes quickly and before long, Nicholas is already heading back upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, Nicholas shifts the platter to his right hand and pushes the door open. Much to his surprise, the door stops midway and he hears a small, surprised squeal let out. Calmly he steps out to apologize.

"Excuse me, I did not realize…" he starts as he looks at the person he bumped. In front of him is a girl about a foot shorter than him, but only slightly younger looking. She has bright blonde hair, like Xander, arranged in two large ponytails. She's wearing a beautiful but practical dress and appears to be stifling a laugh. He immediately recognizes her as Elise, the youngest of the royal family. He panics.

"I am _so_ sorry, milady! It is all my fault. I should have been more careful to see if someone was on the other side. I can take care of any bodily harm you may have and I hope my sincerest apologies are enough to…" Nicholas spits out rapidly, Elise all the while putting her finger to her lips and hissing, trying to get Nicholas to be quite while simultaneously stifling a laugh. Eventually, she gives up and just starts laughing. "Milady, I fail to see what is so funny. I just hit you in the face with a door."

Elise lets out a few more giggles, takes a deep breath, and then crosses her arms and stares directly at Nicholas with a determined frown. "You ruined it!" she shouts.

Nicholas's heart beats faster. "Exactly what of yours have I ruined? If it is material-based I can assure you I will mend it as soon as possible but if it is something else…" he says hurriedly.

"No, silly, that's not it at all! You ruined my prank!" Elise shouts back, trying desperately to maintain her frown.

Nicholas just stands there with his mouth partially open. "I...um...what?"

"It was so perfect!" Elise whines. "Camilla was away and you were about to come up the stairs. I was just about to hide and you ruined it!" Then she looks at Nicholas's completely bewildered face and burst into a fit of giggles again.

"Milady, I am at a loss for words…" Nicholas apologizes.

Still giggling Elise says, "It's okay, it was funny anyway. You look so silly when you're confused." Then in a hushed whisper Elise adds, "Don't tell Camilla about this by the way. She'll shut me in my room if…" But then she looks behind Nicholas down the hallway and lets out a small squeak. Nicholas swivels to see what scared Elise and finds Camilla standing outside her room.

"There you are, my sweet sister. Now be a dear and stop scaring the poor butler. Wouldn't want him to leave on his first day, now would we dear?" Camilla coos while sauntering over. She takes Elise's arm softly but firmly. "Apologize to Nicholas, dear."

"I'm sorry," Elise says sounding like a child caught sneaking a bite of candy.

"Quite unfortunate we have to meet in person under these circumstances," Camilla says. "Though it is good to meet you."

"The feeling is mutual, milady. It is always an honor to meet a member of the royal family," Nicholas comments.

Camilla smiles. "Oh, a polite one are we? Careful not to get too boring, Elise might try and prank you again." she says coyly.

"Thank you for the advice. I will have to keep an eye out for lady Elise then," Nicholas says, smiling at Elise.

"All I wanted to do was scare him. You make it sound like I'm a criminal…" Elise complains, pouting.

"Oh, you poor dear. A criminal is a very unfitting title for you. Perhaps you are more of a jester," Camilla kids. Before Elise can protest, she continues. "I trust you will take great care of big brother. He has certainly become quite the mature king, but he can be a bit of a child sometimes."

Nicholas starts to respond in disbelief before Elise pipes up, "You should have seen him when I put a spider in his bed last week! He jumped so high I thought he would put a hole in the ceiling."

Camilla rolls her eyes. "How you haven't given him a heart attack is a mystery to me…"

"Hehe! He's so gullible! I think he's getting used to it though. He didn't even flinch when he found the one I put in his bed the next day."

"Really, I can't imagine why," Camilla comments. "Anyways, we shall take our leave now, dear Nicholas. Enjoy the rest of your day." She heads down the hall with Elise in tow. Just before heading into her room, Elise turns around and calls back, "I'll get you next time!" Nicholas just stares her down.

After a moment Nicholas remembers he's still holding a platter of food in his hand. Gathering his composure after the interesting introduction to the ladies of the royal family, he enters Xander's room.

"For the record, I did not jump as high as Elise claims I did," Xander says smiling slightly.

"You could hear us outside?" Nicholas asks, slightly embarrassed.

"Nicholas, you can hear Elise from the other side of the castle on some occasions," Xander says matter-of-factly.

"She certainly is very high spirited. She is almost like a perpetual source of energy," Nicholas comments, setting the platter of food down in front of Xander.

"She certainly is. She may be rambunctious, but she had a kind heart. I'm glad you could meet most of my siblings. Leo tends to keep to himself often but I'm sure you'll run into him eventually."

A brief lull passes before Nicholas says, "Earlier you offered to let me explore the market after dinner. If you don't mind, milord, I would like to do that now."

"No, I don't mind that at all. Enjoy yourself. Thank you for being so loyal on your first day," Xander answers.

"Thank you very much, milord. I will be off now. Have a good night," Nicholas says.

Afterward, Nicholas heads downstairs to find Abel. It turns out Abel was sitting right by the door waiting for him. "Oh! That was easy to find you. Are you ready to leave, Abel?" Nicholas asks.

"Sure!" he says, but then frowns. "But, I don't have a horse."

"That's alright. I'm allowed to use some of the horses from the castle stable so we can ride together on one."

Abel's face brightens immediately. "Cool!" he comments. "Let's go then,"

Nicholas leads Abel out the back and around the castle where he takes a chestnut colored horse for the both of them. He helps Abel get up on the horse, and then they're both off to the town square with the sun riding low in the sky.

"Have you ever been out much?" Nicholas asks Abel.

"No, not really. I was born at the castle and was raised there so I haven't really gotten out much. I think my parents used to take me on walks when I was much younger but I don't really remember much," he answers.

"Well, if it's any consolation to you, I've never gotten to go to the deeper parts of town either. I spent most of my life in the neighboring town outside the capital, so this is going to be brand new territory for me too," Nicholas assures.

"Really? I would have thought you to be someone who's been everywhere. Like an adventurer or something." Abel comments.

Nicholas laughs out loud. "If you think that's the kind of person I am then you have very high expectations of people."

Abel asks, "What did you do as a kid?"

"I worked as an apprentice butler most of the time," Nicholas explains. "My parents were fiercely loyal to King Garon, even after his drastic change. They wanted me to be a butler too and made sure I had the most training I could have."

"Oh, so that's why you're really good," Abel says. Then he asks, "Were you still loyal to Garon after he changed?"

Nicholas sighs, remember those days. "No, I was not. I played along with my parents for a while, but I was never fully comfortable with their decisions. The man I apprenticed under with a good friend of Xander's retainer at the time, Gunter, so I heard a lot about everything. I remember that during the war, we heard from him all about how Xander was secretly defying his father and trying to save as many people as possible. He was the one that really impressed me."

"That's so cool!" Abel shouts. "You really admired Xander as a kid and now you're his butler! That's like a dream come true."

"Yes, I suppose it is, isn't it," Nicholas muses. The rest of the way there, Abel starts chattering about what he wishes could happen to him which Nicholas just listens.

After a short while, they reach the town square marketplace. Nicholas ties the horse in the stables there and takes Abel to the stalls.

"Is there anything you're looking for, Abel?" he asks.

"Not really. I just wanted to see what this place looked like. It's so cool, though! Look at all these neat things." Abel says as he looks around at everything.

"Why don't you go off and look at what you want. I'm going to look for a few decorations in my house. I'll meet you back here in around thirty minutes. How does that sound?" Nicholas offers.

"Great! See you later!" Abel says eagerly, skipping off to explore for himself.

While Abel went off on his own, Nicholas goes around to find the things that intrigued him before. First was a glass works stand. At the stand, he finds a beautiful blue glass vase, expertly crafted and uniformly shaped. The man at the stall even offers to have it specially delivered so that it wouldn't break on the horse ride home. Along with the vase, he buys a bouquet of chrysanthemums, his favorite flower. The next stall he visits sells handmade rugs. After looking for a bit, he chooses a small rug with a gray and purple diamond pattern. Finally, Nicholas visits a stall that sells stationery. He picks a stack of paper with a simple flower design printed on it, a feather pen, and a bottle of ink. As he's returning to the horse to put everything in the satchel, he sees another stall he didn't notice before and wanders over.

At this stall are little ceramic animals. He sees cats, dogs, horses, llamas, and even mice. One particular cat catches his eye. It's yellow with a purple collar, blue eyes, and white paws. For some reason, the cat reminds him of Elise. Nicholas impulsively decides to buy it and carefully puts it away with the other things. Then he looks around for Abel.

Nicholas searches for a few minutes but can't find him anywhere. He goes up and down all the stalls, but no Abel.

"Abel?" Nicholas shouts. He hears nothing. Then a thought pops into his head. " _Maybe he went back to the horse."_ he reasons. But when Nicholas goes back to the horse, Abel isn't there either.

Nicholas is just about to find a guard when he hears a voice call out, "Nicholas!" He glances to his left and sees Abel running from the marketplace. "I've been looking for you. Where have you been?"

"Where have _I_ been? I could say the same thing about you. I've been looking for you everywhere," Nicholas scolds.

Abel laughs quietly. "Apparently we must have been going around in circles. It's getting late, don't you think? We should be getting home now. Sorry for worrying you so. Let's go then!" he says hurriedly.

"Yes. Let's go," Nicholas agrees relieved that he didn't lose Abel in the square. They pack their things and head home. Nicholas drops him off at his house and then ties up the horse back in the stables. But before retiring for the night, he heads inside the castle and up the stairs to the hallway outside Xander's room. But instead of going to Xander, he heads to Elise's door and knocks.

"Who is it?" calls out Elise's childlike, happy-go-lucky voice.

"It is Nicholas, milady. I was wondering if I might have a word with you," Nicholas explains.

Only a second passes before the door is flung open by Elise. "Hi, Nicholas!" she greets. "So, what's up? If this is about hitting me, don't worry yourself about it. I'm all right."

"Actually, the intent of this visit was not to apologize for that incident. Rather, King Xander graciously allowed me time to go to the market to find some things to furnish my home. As I was looking around, I found something for you," Nicholas says. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out the little ceramic cat he got at the market. "I found that it reminded me of you and thought it is a fitting decoration for a lady's room."

Elise's eyes widen at the cat. "Awwwwwwww!" she cries out. "It's so adorable! I love it so much!" She takes the cat daintily. "I'm gonna call it Mr. Fluffy and I'm gonna keep it right by my bed. Thanks a bunch!"

"I think you deserve it, milady. And now if you will excuse me, I must retire to bed," Nicholas states.

"Thanks again! And goodnight!" Elise says happily and waves before closing the door. Nicholas smiles, glad he could make someone so happy.

Nicholas returns to his house to find the vase with fresh flowers sitting in crystal clear water in a neat, little cushioning case sitting on the front step. He brings it inside and sets it on top of the mantelpiece. Then Nicholas takes out the rug and rolls it out in front of the fireplace. After examining and readjusting a few times, he settles on a position and orientation. Then he takes the stationary and writing supplies and sets them down on the table. It isn't much, but he likes the homier feel the items give.

Finally, Nicholas sits down in front of the low table, dips his feather pen in the fresh ink, and begins to write.

 _Dear David,_

 _First of all, how have you been? I know it has only been about a week since I last saw you, but it feels like months for me. Everything has happened so fast._

 _Working for Xander is everything I imagined it to be. He is often reserved but is very kind to me. He let me visit the marketplace today where I bought this stationary._

 _I've met so many other nice people too. Through a very unfortunate incident, I met the ladies of the royal family, Elise and Camilla. Elise is a very sweet child and I can tell Camilla cares for her very much._

 _Teresa is the head cook of the castle and is quite a character. She always carries around a rolling pin. Other than that, she is a very kind person, always eager to talk, and makes the most delicious bread._

 _There is another boy working here named Abel. He is a little bit younger than me and quite shy. Once I got to talking to him a bit, though, he turned out to be a very friendly person and we quickly became friends. I took him to the marketplace with me and he enjoyed that quite a bit. I almost lost him, though. Fortunately, he found me in the end._

 _In conclusion, I am writing this to say all is well! Everything is going smoothly and I'm enjoying it very much. Thank you for preparing me for my dreams._

 _-_ _Nicholas_

Nicholas sets down his pen, folds and seals the letter in an envelope, and heads off to bed.

* * *

 _ **As usual, many thanks to prowessMaster44 for editing and reminding me that pronouns exist. What would I do without you.**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**A/N: I slipped in a random reference in this chapter just because it wouldn't be me if I didn't. See if you can spot it! Otherwise, enjoy this chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying the story.**_

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~Chapter 9~

A couple days pass by without anything out of the ordinary. Nicholas quickly forms a routine for his days. Xander is a very predictable person. Nearly all the same things are done every day and Nicholas does them gladly, even if Xander doesn't pay that much attention to him. But just as Nicholas gets fully settled into the routine, a very interesting task comes up.

The morning starts out like any other: get up early, eat a small breakfast, cook Xander's breakfast, and set out the day's clothes and the food just before he wakes up. Nicholas waits at the ready while Xander finishes his meal. After he finishes, Xander stands up and says, "Nicholas, I have something a bit larger for you to work on this week. An important meeting is going to be held in the west hall at the end of this week and, seeing as the hall hasn't been used in a while, I would like you to spruce it up a bit and make it look a bit more presentable. It doesn't need too much, just work on it whenever you can in between your daily duties. Oh, and during the meeting, I was hoping a meal could be served. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I most certainly can milord. Please, may you inform me of where the hall is so that I may see its current state for myself?" Nicholas asks.

"Oh, certainly. If you go out the hallway and around the perimeter of the entrance room, go through the last door to a different hallway. About in the middle of that hallway are double doors. The meeting hall is through there," Xander explains.

"Thank you very much, milord. I shall be off then if you don't mind," Nicholas states.

"Not at all. Good day, Nicholas." Xander says. Nicholas bows and exits to find the meeting hall.

As he follows the directions from Xander, he ponders to himself. " _This should be fun. My first special job. Doesn't sound like it will be too hard. Just some freshening up of the room, maybe a few personal additions. I don't think Xander would mind that. Yes, not too hard at all._ " Just after finished that thought, Nicholas pushes open the double doors.

A cringe seeps into his features and he whispers out loud. "Oh my goodness. What to do about this…"

The room is much barer than Nicholas could have possibly imagined. The only thing present in the room is a long table with tall wooden chairs all around it. Tall windows line the upper half of one of the walls, but nothing adorns them either.

Nicholas's flair for interior decorating kicks into overdrive. "What to do first…" he wonders aloud as the approaches the table. He drags a finger across the corner and examines his finger. "I'll have to dust, first of all," he comments and then looks up at the windows. "I'll have to clean out the cobwebs too…"

Nicholas keeps walking around the room as he makes a list of everything he plans to do.

"Let's see here. First of all, I'll have to make some seat cushions. Can't have them sitting on bare wood: their bottoms will be sore before dessert. Definitely a tablecloth too. That probably doesn't need to be too fancy, though. Some table decorations will be needed. Perhaps a centerpiece too. Or would that be too much? Hmm, I'll have to experiment. And curtains, there must be curtains. I think I'll embroider the Nohrian crest on them; that would look very nice." Nicholas visualizes everything in his head. "Hmm, it still looks empty. Perhaps I could find some pedestals to put in the corners. Oh! And what if I put purple roses on them? That would look marvelous. Exquisite, but fierce at the same time." He stands back and visualizes everything one last time. "Perfect. Time to get started."

Nicholas walks quickly back down into the staff's quarters and straight to the sewing room. On his way, he passes Teresa coming out of the kitchen briefly.

"Ah, Nicholas! How are you this morning?" she asks.

"Wonderful, but I am very busy. Sorry I can't stay and talk. Enjoy your day!" he calls while still walking to the sewing room.

"Very busy indeed…" Teresa mumbles. She shakes her head and wanders back into the kitchen.

" _First things first. I have got to dust that room,"_ Nicholas thinks to himself. He finds a whisk and a broom and pan. He takes them both upstairs and dusts the table, all the chairs, and the entire floor in no time. Then he sets about making the seat cushions.

First Nicholas grabs a tape measure, runs back up to the room and measures the seat of the wooden chairs. Then he rushes back down and sets to work.

Quickly and efficiently Nicholas finds what he needs. He gets a bunch of purple felt from the fabric cabinet and sets that down at an open station. Then he finds a roll of gold colored trim and brings that with him. Finally, he finds a few medium sized black buttons. Then with the focus of a magnifying glass, he sets to work making the seat cushions.

While Nicholas works furiously, Abel walks up to him intending to ask him a question, but after taking one look at him and recognizing his focus, he finds it wiser to go ask someone else.

In only an hour, Nicholas finishes the seat cushions. He stands up and steps back to admire his work. The cushions are fashioned from two pieces of custom cut purple felt outlined with the gold trim. Two black buttons are placed in the middle for visual appeal. Nicholas smiles, happy with his work. He stacks all nine of the cushions and carries them upstairs.

As he is walking through the hallway, Elise happens to wander out the door just in time to see Nicholas open the door to the foyer and head off. Confused, she knocks on Xander's door.

"Come in," Xander says. Elise wanders in.

"Hey, Xander! Whatcha doing?" he asks cheerfully.

"Oh, it's you, Elise. Good to see you. I was reviewing some military plans. What do you need?" Xander asks.

"Well, I was heading out of my room to take a stroll in the countryside, and I managed to see Nicholas walking out into the hallway with what seemed to be a large stack of seat cushions in his arm. It seemed kind of weird. I was just wondering, what is Nicholas doing?"

Xander furrows his brow. "Seat cushions? He's supposed to be fixing up the west meeting hall for the military meeting at the end of this week. Apparently, he decided seat cushions were needed. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Elise frowns. "He seemed in a hurry."

"He's probably just trying to get it done quickly so he can be prepared," Xander assures.

"Alright, if you say so. See ya, big brother!" Elise sings as she skips out the door. Xander smiles at her energy. What she said lingers on his mind, though. He keeps wondering what Nicholas is up to.

Somewhat of an answer comes only a few hours later. While sitting at his desk, he hears the door to the staff's quarters swing shut. Quickly walking to his door, Xander opens it quietly and peers outside to see Nicholas walking down the hallway again, this time with a bunch of curtains. Xander finds it so odd that for a moment, he feels tempted to call out and ask Nicholas what he's doing, but decides against it and simply leaves Nicholas to do what he sees fit. Now hearing about seat cushions and seeing curtains makes him curious about what the meeting hall will look like when Nicholas is done with it.

Meanwhile, Nicholas heads back to the meeting hall with the curtains he just cut, embroidered, and embellished. Only when he returns to the hall does he remember that the windows are much too high for him to hand them all on his own. Unfortunately, he also doesn't know where a ladder is either. He carefully sets the curtains down on the table and goes back to Xander's room. He knocks and Xander calls him in.

Nicholas bows. "Good day, milord. I was wondering if I might ask you where something is located," he explains.

"What is it that you are trying to find?" Xander asks.

"A ladder, milord. I am unfamiliar where one is kept. I need it for...the meeting hall. Well not to put in the meeting hall but…" Nicholas starts to explain but Xander raises his hand and Nicholas stops talking.

"I won't question your request. There is a storage closet further down the hallway with the meeting hall that has one. We don't use ladders very often so that's why it is kept there. I believe it should be tall enough," Xander answers.

"Thank you very much, milord. Is there anything else you require of me or may I continue working on the meeting hall?"

"No, I think I will allow you to continue working," Xander offers. "Do not keep me waiting for dinner," he adds.

"I will be up soon with your meal, rest assured," Nicholas confirms. Xander smiles politely and dismisses him.

It doesn't take long for Nicholas to locate the old wooden ladder, but just slightly longer for him to drag it down the small section of the hall and line it up in front of the first window. One by one he takes one of the curtains, climbs up the ladder with it, and tacks them with sturdy pins in place so that they hang neatly on the sides of the windows but still let plenty of light through. After finishing that, Nicholas wipes his brow and sighs. "I think that's enough for today," he says to himself. Then he drags the ladder back to the closet and goes down to the kitchen to cook dinner.

"How is the meeting hall coming along?" Xander asks in the middle of dinner.

"It is coming along quite nicely, milord, but it still needs a significant amount of work. Rest assured, I will not neglect anything else in favor of it, though," Nicholas answers.

"Was the ladder particularly difficult to use?" Xander pries.

"No, not at all. It was of sufficient height and got the job done. It was quite heavy to drag through," Nicholas recalls.

"You certainly do have a passion for work," Xander comments. "Don't overwork yourself."

"I'm afraid that is quite impossible for me," Nicholas assures smiling.

Xander lets out a small laugh. "Yes, it would appear so. There's still three more days till the meeting through and I don't think there is much to do. Pace yourself at least."

"I am doing just that, milord," Nicholas assures again. Xander eyes him for a moment.

"Alright then. You are free to go home now. Get some sleep," he commands.

"Thank you, milord," Nicholas says. He bows and politely exits the room. He is quite tired from the work he put into decorating the hall today and when his head hits his pillow, Nicholas promptly falls asleep.


	11. Chapter 10

_**A/N: I was at a camp for a week but I'm back now! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy! Not much to say but a usual heartfelt thank you to prowessMaster44.**_

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~Chapter 10~

The next day, Nicholas gets up and completes the morning chores of making breakfast, setting out clothing and washing clothes in record time in order to get right to work on the meeting hall.

First on his list today is the tablecloth. Much like making the seat cushions and the curtains, he quickly gathers the necessary materials and gets right to work. But before he can get too focused, Abel walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hello, Abel. How are you today?" Nicholas greets.

"I'm fine but I was more so wondering about you. You were really focused yesterday making those cushions. Quite abnormally I would think. I was just wondering what you're doing," Abel explains.

"Ah, I see. I guess I do get very focused when I'm working hard on something. Xander actually assigned me my first special project which is to fix up the west meeting hall for a council meeting there in three days. Clearly, the room hasn't been used in a while, and I'm simply making it look presentable," Nicholas states.

"Oh, okay then. I guess I'll just leave to your work then. See you later then!" Abel says cheerfully and heads off to his chores. Nicholas resumes working.

He decides to make the tablecloth functional but proper at the same time. He chooses a thin, tightly-woven purple fabric to use for the bulk of the fabric, and, to stick with the current color theme, he uses black thread to stitch a simple repeating pattern around the perimeter. The tablecloth doesn't take much time to complete, and as soon as he does, he whisks the tablecloth away and carries it to the meeting hall.

Along the way, he happens to pass Camilla on the foyer balcony. Politely, he moves to the side and bows slightly, but Camilla stops to talk.

"Really, Nicholas," she begins. "It is hardly a few minutes past nine and you've already made breakfast, presumably washed clothes, and now procured a tablecloth I've never seen before which I assume you made it yourself. Why you need a tablecloth I can't possibly imagine, but the point is, don't you think you're working a lot, dear? I hate to see you drop dead from exhaustion so soon. Is Xander working you too hard? Perhaps I should have a talk with dear big brother."

"It is not Xander's fault at all, milady, he has been very good to me these first few days, and, as I told him yesterday, it is impossible for me to overwork myself. I am sorry to have worried you," Nicholas says.

"I do like you Nicholas. Slow down sometimes. At any rate, I'm afraid if I detain you much longer you'll have to work overtime. Goodbye, Nicholas," Camilla bids farewell, smiling. Nicholas returns the smile and they both go their separate ways.

As soon as Nicholas reaches the hall he unfurls the tablecloth and drapes it over the long, wooden table. After adjusting and readjusting several times and steps back and is finally happy with its positioning and looks. Then he starts to visualize the final decorations.

" _Now, I want the corner pedestals to be simple in order to draw attention to the flower that will be put on them. Perhaps simply white marble?"_ Nicholas ponders. He conjures a mental image. _"No, those would be too striking. I'll have to find something not quite so white. Perhaps simple marble will work best. Yes, simple cylindrical marble pedestals. The black roses will stand out quite nicely on those but not too much."_

Finalizing his plans for everything, Nicholas decides to wait until after lunch to go shopping in order to have enough time.

Back in the kitchen, Teresa is the third person to ask him about his supposed overworking.

"So, I've been hearing things from Abel about how you've been working pretty hard lately," she comments.

Nicholas sighs. "I assure you it is nothing to worry about. I will not work myself too hard and…" he starts to explain but Teresa interrupts him with a slap on the back.

"Oh, you don't need to assure me. I know a hard worker from an overworker and you are certainly a hard worker. You're just like me you know. We can't stand to have anything be half-baked. Got to do everything to its fullest, y 'know." she states while vigorously stirring a bowl of batter.

Nicholas smiles. "I'm glad you agree then. That meeting hall was so bare, it made me cringe. I'm just making it the best it can be. I wouldn't want a bare room to reflect badly on Xander."

"No, you definitely wouldn't want that," Teresa says, chuckling. Nicholas scrunches his eyebrows but smiles too as he loads his finished meal onto plates and starts walking upstairs again. He delivers lunch to Xander, and after confirming that there is nothing else for him to do at the moment, asks permission to go out and shop, which Xander grants.

First off, Nicholas goes to a special shop in the middle of town that makes sculpted furniture of all kinds and picks out two thin and short pedestals that look exactly like he visualized earlier. He brings them back to the castle in a rental car provided by the seller and immediately realizes one crucial problem.

The pedestals are just a bit too heavy for one person to carry, and the hall is on the second floor.

To solve this dilemma, Nicholas goes to find Abel. Fortunately, when he locates him, Abel is just wandering around looking for something to do.

"Abel!" Nicholas calls to get his attention.

Abel turns around. "Oh, hi sir! What do you need? I'm not really in the middle of anything right now so I'd be happy to help."

"First off, just Nicholas, please. Second, I need your help carrying some things to the meeting hall. They're just a bit too heavy for me to lift up and I need to get them up a flight of stairs. It shouldn't be difficult with the two of us, though," Nicholas explains.

"Sure, I can help with that!" Abel says. "What are we carrying?"

"It would be better if I just showed you. I left the cart outside our entrance. Follow me," Nicholas says. He takes Abel outside where Abel sees the pedestals in the cart.

"You have pedestals? Goodness, you are really going all out in decorating this hall. The members are going to think it's a feast, not a meeting. I'll still help, though," Abel comments.

Lifting at the same time, the two of them lift the marble cylinder relatively easily. Carrying it through the middle of the lounge area certainly earns them some questioning and otherwise odd looks. At the top of the stairs, Nicholas stops to whisper to Abel before entering the hallway.

"Let's try and be very quiet walking through here. I'm sure if Xander saw me with these, he would think them a little too much. Don't make a sound," he whispers. Then he pushes open the door very quietly with his back.

The two of them walk very slowly, being very careful not to make any sounds going down the hallway. Fortunately, no one comes out of their room and they get to the meeting hall with no hiccups.

When they get inside, Abel sees what Nicholas has been working on and his mouth falls. "This room looks so cool!" he exclaims. "I love what you've done with it. Man, everyone is going to adore this. I bet when Xander sees this he'll be so amazed that he'll give you a present or something. Like a cat." Nicholas eyes Abel.

"A cat?" he questions.

"Well, I've always wanted a cat. They're so cute and fluffy. I once met this tabby cat on the street that followed me for blocks. It was so cute, but my mom won't let us keep a cat," Abel explains.

"Interesting tidbit," Nicholas comments. "Let's just focus on moving the pedestals shall we?" They both return to the cart.

The second one goes smoothly too and so does the third. But when they start carrying the fourth one, Abel steps on a squeaky board. Nicholas goes wide-eyed. "Quick!" he urges and they speed walk out the hallway door and close it just before Xander peers out to investigate, still curious what Nicholas is up too. Outside, Abel giggles.

"I feel like a ninja," he says.

"Ninjas wouldn't have cut it so close," Nicholas comments. "Quick, let's get this to the hall before Xander comes looking." They hurry the rest of the way and put the last pedestal in place.

"Whew, I think that looks good," Nicholas says after they set it down. "I just need the flowers for them now. But I also have to work on the table settings, too."

"I could help if you want," Abel offers. "I'm just a free-floater so it would be fine."

"That would be a big help," Nicholas agrees. He explains to Abel to use the cart they unloaded the pedestals off of to go find some dark red roses and pots that match the pedestals. Abel runs off to do that while Nicholas stays to plan the table decorations.

" _Alright now,"_ he begins. _"How do I want this to look? The most important thing is obviously the centerpiece. Maybe since it's the middle of spring I'll make it spring themed. If I could find some ivy it might look good if I wrapped that around some potted pansies, purple of course. Yes, I feel that would look nice. Now for the place settings we'll need good plates. Not the really fancy ones; it shouldn't look like a tea party. I'll have to find some simple glass ones. I'll use some nice silverware and basic goblets for the drink. Perhaps Teresa can help me find all of this."_

Nicholas memorizes his visualized table and goes downstairs to find Teresa, which he does very quickly.

"Good afternoon, Teresa." he greets cheerfully.

"Ah, hello! I'm doing quite well thank you very much. And how is my favorite busybody doing?" she returns.

"Just as busy as ever," he replies. "In fact, I need your help with the hall now. I'm working on designing place settings for the table and I was thinking about designing it something like this." He continues to explain everything he thought of back in the room and Teresa listens intently. After he finishes, Teresa ponders.

"Well I think that's quite wonderful," she concludes.

"Good! In that case, can you help me find everything?" Nicholas asks.

"Sure can! You're in luck; I just finished my last batch of bread for the day. I'd be happy to help you right now. Let's get started," she says.

Teresa shows Nicholas where the plates and glasses are kept while she heads to the other side of the room to pick out the silverware and napkins. Nicholas finds just the things he's looking for. He chooses a stack of light tan, simple glass plates and carefully lifts enough for all the settings at the table and goes upstairs to place them. While he's setting out the plates, Teresa comes up with another stack of neat napkins and a cup of polished silverware. Together the finish setting those out and then take one final trip with a set of silver goblets.

"Goodness, this table looks fit for a coronation feast," Teresa comments. "Won't Xander be absolutely delighted to see this!"

"I certainly hope he will be. I'll have to find out tomorrow. I think I'm done with everything for today, but is it alright if I go over the preparations for the meal with you tomorrow? I have yet to decide what will be served," Nicholas asks.

"Certainly. We'll be sure to make it a meal they'll remember for the rest of their lives," Teresa says determinedly.

"Thank you very much, Teresa," Nicholas says. "You were a big help this afternoon."

"Oh, it wasn't any trouble at all. I always help out people I like," she says while pinching Nicholas's cheek.

Nicholas sighs. "While I am glad I have earned your approval, please don't do that."

Teresa laughs heartily. "Only playing with you. You have a good evening now, you hear? Get some good sleep," she commands and then returns to the kitchen.

Nicholas follows to make dinner. As usual, he stands at the ready during the meal, expecting Xander to say something about his progress, but all Xander says is a thank you for the meal and asks for him to take some letters to be delivered tomorrow. Of course, Nicholas happily agrees to do it. After the first trip, Nicholas finds delivering letters to be his favorite thing to do as it allows him to explore at the same time. It is much too late to deliver them today, so he sets them neatly on his table at home and retires to bed early, anticipating finalizing the meeting hall so he can finally show Xander all of his hard work.


	12. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Sorry for no update in a little while! I got kind of lazy. Middle of summer will do that to a person. It took a lot of self-motivation to get this out, so I think I'm doing pretty good. I hope you enjoy! Things will start to pick up slightly after here.**_

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~Chapter 11~

Nicholas wakes up early, excited to start the day. There are chores to be done, plans to be finalized, and letters to be delivered. Immediately, Nicholas starts on the chores.

At breakfast, Nicholas asks Xander, "Milord, since today is the last day before the important meeting tomorrow, might I show you the furnished room at the end of the day so that you may approve of it?"

"Certainly. I can't say I'm not a little bit excited to see it since you've been working so hard on it. Was that you I almost saw going out the hallway yesterday?" Xander asks.

Nicholas suppresses a smile at the recollection of yesterday's close call. "Possibly," he answers. "I made many trips in and out of that hallway yesterday, so it is entirely possible you glimpsed me heading to the hall."

Xander continues to stare. "You know, it almost seems like you were hiding from me," he comments.

"That was not my intention at all, milord," Nicholas assures. Then he adds, "I was merely making sure nothing was revealed till everything is completed."

Xander smiles. "So you were hiding from me."

"I suppose if you insist on putting it that way, I shall concede that I was perhaps avoiding the situation of your gaze falling upon the items in my possession," Nicholas concedes. He smiles humorously.

Xander smiles too. "You are such a strange young man, Nicholas. Now I am very intrigued. Finish your plans and deliver the letters quickly then. It is rude to keep the king waiting. "

"I shall keep you waiting no longer that what is necessary," Nicholas assures.

Xander laughs. "Be off with you now," he dismisses cordially. Nicholas obliges and leaves the room, happy that he was able to have a friendly conversation. He likes Xander more when he's relaxed; it makes his job more fun.

First Nicholas gets the delivery portions done quickly. Instead of taking detours like he did the last time, he plans for most efficient route possible to get it done as quickly as possible. He gets back just in time for lunch, and immediately afterward he goes to Teresa to plan the logistics of the meal.

"Alright, Teresa. Time to plan. We've got to plan a meal for eight hungry officials plus the king. It's got to be something filling but fancy,"

"Well whatever it is, it's got to have bread," Teresa says immediately.

Nicholas rolls his eyes. "Ah, yes. It has to have bread. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you will be the one to cook it?"

"No, I was planning on having the pigs make it," Teresa says, playfully hitting Nicholas on the shoulder with her rolling pin. "Of course I'll make it."

"Alright. Now, I'm thinking we have to serve meat of some kind. Ham has always been my favorite. Will it be possible to serve freshly cooked ham?" he asks.

"Certainly. I can have some of my staff slow roast it just before the meeting. Why not some mashed potatoes with it, too?"

"I can take care of that," Nicholas offers. "I can make some delicious gravy to go with it. And I've always thought that green beans go well with potatoes. I'll steam some of those, too."

"I'll go out and milk some cows tomorrow morning too so there will be fresh milk to drink," Teresa says.

"So let's see. We have ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and milk. I think that's a pretty good meal don't you think?" Nicholas asks.

"A very hearty meal indeed. I think you're going to spoil the king, you know?" Teresa comments.

"Frankly, I don't think that's possible," he contradicts. "Well, now that everything's finalized, I'm going to go show Xander the room and tell him the plans. Wish me luck."

Nicholas knocks and Xander invites him inside.

"I assume you are finished then?" Xander asks.

"Yes, I am ready to show you the meeting hall. I hope it pleases you, milord." Nicholas says.

"Alright then," Xander says simply and leads the way out the door. "It will be nice to see the room clean again. It certainly has been a long time since it's been used. And I think the few embellishments you've added will be nice," he says, making conversation during their walk.

"I'd have to say it is more than a _few_ embellishments," Nicholas adds. But before Xander can say anything else, he adds, "Just wait and see milord. A visual is worth much more than words."

When they reach the hall, Nicholas slips in front to open the door for Xander. "May I present you with the newly refurbished west meeting hall," he says as he opens the doors.

Xander steps inside and gapes at all the things Nicholas has added: the curtains, the cushions, the flowers on pedestals, and the beautiful table.

"My goodness!" he exclaims. "I don't even recognize this room anymore!" He walks around the feels the tablecloth, cushions, and curtains. "Did you make all of this yourself?"

"I didn't start from scratch if you mean, but I did embroider everything and assemble everything. I am very nimble and efficient with a needle and thread," Nicholas explains.

"Well, it is very clear that you do have talent in that area," Xander comments. "You certainly have a knack for interior design too. I love the overall theme of this room. The flowers in the corner are an especially nice touch. I don't think I would have ever thought to place those there. They do add a lot, though."

He finisheslooking at everything and returns to talk directly to Nicholas. "Well, if it was approval from me, you have certainly earned it. I don't think this room has ever looked better. You have done a great job preparing for tomorrow."

"Thank you very much, milord. Your compliments are much appreciated," Nicholas says.

"Well, I don't believe there is much left to do before tomorrow. If you don't mind, I would like my outfit washed one last time. Can't hurt to be extra prepared," Xander says.

"I would be happy to do that. I will bring it up with dinner," Nicholas explains.

"Perfect. I will see you again shortly, then." Xander says.

"Certainly. Thank you again very much for your kind words. They mean a lot," Nicholas adds. Xander just smiles and Nicholas heads back to grab Xander's outfit.

As soon as he opens the doors into the staff's quarters, Teresa bombards him with questions.

"What did he say?!" she immediately shouts excitedly. "Did he like the table settings? I thought the flowers in the corners were great. What did he say about those? Don't keep me in suspense!" she continues before Nicholas can answer anything.

"Goodness sakes, slow down," Nicholas says before answering. "He was very kind. He complimented me on my design and my choices for decoration. I think he was very impressed."

"Oh, that's marvelous. We'll knock his socks off again with the meal tomorrow, too," Teresa adds.

"I can hardly wait," Nicholas says smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me I have some things to finish up today and it won't go very fast if you're hovering over my shoulder the whole time."

"Certainly. I'll leave you to that then. Have a good night," Teresa says bidding him farewell. She skips back into the kitchen.

Nicholas finishes out the day normally. He washes the clothes, makes dinner, and Xander dismisses him to return to his house.

When Nicholas opens his front door, he finds a letter on the floor inside, slipped underneath the door earlier that day no doubt. He picks it up and is excited to see it is from David. He takes off his shoes, starts a small fire and gets comfy in the chair first before opening it and reading the letter.

 _Dear Nicholas,_

 _It was so nice to receive your letter the other day. A day hasn't gone by that I haven't thought about how you are doing at the castle. It seems empty around here without you, but I know you are very happy where you are right now._

 _I think I was most happy to hear about the friends you have made there. It is always important to surround one's self with people you like and people you trust._

 _I also sincerely hope the unfortunate circumstances you mentioned weren't too unfortunate. It would be quite embarrassing to anger the royal family as soon as you meet them. Knowing you though, I have a feeling you thought it out._

 _In other news, I am doing quite well here. Nothing has changed much since you left, and I am still spry and going strong._

 _I hope you've been able to make a favorable impression on King Xander. Do your old teacher a favor and really impress him some time. You deserve an opportunity like that._

 _~David_

Reading a letter from David puts Nicholas in a good mood. There's nothing like hearing from home to cheer one's spirits.

He rereads the last line a few time, and, thinking back to only a few hours earlier, wonders if he's already done that. Nicholas falls asleep in the chair thinking.


	13. Chapter 12

**_A/N: This is probably the last really short chapter. I started writing much longer chapters from here so you'll get more bang for your buck (except it's free!). Hope you enjoy! And for those of you it applies to, good luck with back to school!_**

* * *

~Chapter 12~

Nicholas wakes up with a slightly sore neck. However, a quick stretch gets rid of the kink, and a glance at the clock shows he woke up at exactly the right time. His internal clock never fails.

In Xander's room at breakfast, Nicholas goes over the final plans for the day.

"Milord, if it is not too much trouble, would you please go over the schedule for everything today so I know how everything will be run?" Nicholas asks.

"Certainly," Xander agrees. "It would be best if you prepared anything for the meal that can be done ahead of time and can be kept fresh because I have another special request for you. The military council members will be arriving around noon. I would like to be in the courtyard to greet them and take care of their horses. I've seen your manners and feel that you would be excellent at this. One everyone has arrived, you are free to head back to the kitchen and bring the meals up. There are covered platters and trays to carry everything up the stairs and carts to place them on for distributing in the hall. Once the meal has been served you are free to wait outside until we are finished and then take everything but the tablecloth away for the meeting portion. While our meeting is taking place, you may wait outside too in case there is anything else needed. Afterward, you can escort everyone out. With any luck, everything should go smoothly. There are some delicate matters to discuss," Xander finishes explaining.

"If you wanted I could repeat everything back to you," Nicholas assures.

"Perfect. Thank you very much for helping. If you could pass the instructions along to Teresa, that would be wonderful," Xander adds.

"I shall do that right away and get started on the cooking," Nicholas confirms.

"Wonderful. Goodbye then, Nicholas. You are dismissed," Xander says. Nicholas bows and heads right downstairs.

Teresa is busy in the kitchen when Nicholas finds her. Quickly and efficiently, he explains everything Xander just told him.

"Perfect," Teresa says. "I've just started the ham roasting so that should be done at just the right time. I'll go out and milk the cows right now. You can start making the potatoes and beans, and everything should be done right on time." She claps her hands together. "It's been awhile since I've gotten to use my covered platters. They are so much fun, you know. I always like to lift the cover off with a little flourish. Adds to the effect."

"Well don't flourish too much and hit one of them in the head," Nicholas warns, smiling.

Teresa puts her hands on her hips. " _You_ start cooking, young man, lest I hit _you_ in the head with my rolling pin for being sassy."

Nicholas laughs. "Right away, ma'am."

He works as efficiently as possible. To start, he fills a pot with water and starting it boiling. Then he takes a bunch of fresh green beans and sets them in a steamer to sit for a bit. While both of those are warming up, he peels a dozen medium sized potatoes. The water is just beginning to boil when he finishes, and he drops the potatoes in. He cools the fire the green beans are sitting on and then sets about making the gravy, Simultaneously, Nicholas slowly stirs the gravy with his right hand while he begins to mash up the potatoes with his left. Both finish at about the exact same time.

"Teresa! Everything is ready here. Can you make sure this stays warm while I go and greet the council members coming?" Nicholas asks.

"Certainly. I'll have everything ready to be taken upstairs when you return," Teresa assures.

"Perfect. Wish me luck. Let's hope I don't offend anyone," Nicholas remarks.

"Oh, I don't think you will. Just be yourself," Teresa suggests.

"Thanks," Nicholas says and he heads out into the courtyard.

Not five minutes pass before the first person rides up. Nicholas greets him cordially and takes his horse for him after showing him inside. The same for the rest all the way until the last guest arrives. This guest actually talks to Nicholas a bit, though.

After taking the last guest's horse, the man asks, "I don't remember seeing you around here before. Are you new?"

"Yes, sir. I was recently hired as Xander's butler. It is an incredible honor for me and I hope I can represent him well," Nicholas answers.

"It is a breath of fresh air to see someone so young with sure impeccable manners. I am sure King Xander is very proud of you."

"Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate your kind words," Nicholas thanks him and escorts him inside. As soon as the man is on his way to the hall, he sprints down to the staff's room.

The whole time Nicholas is greeting everyone in the courtyard, Xander is also greeting everyone as they come in the hall. And without fail, the first thing anyone says when they come in the door relates to the room itself.

Silas, the chief in command of the Nohrian army is especially impressed. "My word, I don't remember this room ever looking so good. This makes me feel like I'm going to a feast instead of a meeting," he comments.

"Well, you can thank my new butler, Nicholas, for that. I told him to simply spruce up the room and he went above and beyond. The boy is extremely loyal and polite, almost to a fault," Xander explains.

"Was that the boy that greeted me at the front gates?" Silas asks. Xander nods. "He was the politest young man I've ever met. He must really enjoy his position."

"Yes, I do think he does," Xander confirms. "Please, sit down now. We will start when everyone is here.

When Nicholas burst into the kitchen after everyone arrives, Teresa is waiting right there for him with all the meals dished out and placed under their covers for serving.

"Ready?" Nicholas asks.

"Ready," Teresa affirms.

Together they take a tray with four meals each and carry them carefully up the stairs outside the meeting hall where they place them on a cart and push the carts through the door.

Everyone inside glances up from the chatter, but upon seeing the food, starting talking again cheerfully.

Xander addresses the group with, "Gentlemen, I have had a meal prepared for you before we start. Please, enjoy at your leisure."

Teresa and Nicholas both claim a side of the table to serve. At each spot, they place a serving down and lift up the cover. A neat billow of steam is released each time.

Everyone begins eating the food hungrily. Many compliments are passed around at how delicious it is. When Nicholas sets Xander's food in front of him, Xander gives him a curious look. Nicholas just smiles. He and Teresa finish serving and step to the side to wait.

"I think that went very well," he whispers to Teresa.

"I think that went more than very well," Teresa adds. "Look at how much they are enjoying the meal," she says gesturing to the table of guests. Nicholas scans everyone's faces and reads the happiness on their face. One young man with dull blue hair curled up in the front meets Nicholas's eyes when he looks around. He smiles at Nicholas and flashes a thumbs up. Nicholas bows slightly in acknowledgment, smiling back at him. He also realizes that Leo is sitting at the table next to Xander. Then Teresa taps him on the shoulder.

"That's Silas. Xander made him captain of the military," Teresa explains. "He's generally quite nice. I see you've made an especially favorable impression on him."

Nicholas smiles. Something like this is exactly what brings him joy; serving others and making them happy.

After about thirty minutes, everyone is finished. Nicholas and Teresa clear the plates and the place setting to make the table more open and take their leave.

"I'm supposed to stand close by in case anything else is needed," Nicholas reiterates. "Can you handle taking everything down for me?"

"Certainly. You just be a good boy and stand still," Teresa says patting him on the shoulder. Nicholas just gives her a look which makes her laugh.

Teresa leaves and Nicholas is left alone out in the hallway. With the sudden silence, he realizes he can still hear the people inside a little bit. He succumbs to his curious side and moves closer to the crack between the doors. Now he can hear the voices clearly.

"I assume most of you know why I've been forced to hold this meeting," Xander's voice carries through the door. "Most of you have probably read the reports. Apparently there have been rumors of a small rebellious army forming who were very loyal to my father and don't like the friendlier rules on foreign relations."

"Milord, pardon me for interrupting, but neither I nor my patrol troops have seen anything out of the ordinary at all. It doesn't seem this group actually exists," Silas suggests.

"That's what concerns me the most," Xander explains. "Why are these rumors and reports surfacing if we can't find a trace of them?"

"There are only two possibilities," what Nicholas assumes to be Leo's voice says. "One is that these rumors are completely baseless and false. If that is the case, we have nothing to fear at all. Then there is the most concerning scenario. If these rumors are true…"

"It means they are very good at hiding themselves," Xander finishes. "Which is what we must discuss today. How are we to best figure out if these rebels actually exist?"

The discussion continues, but Nicholas drifts away from the door losing interest in the current conversation. He mulls over the news he just heard.

There are people in Nohr who still support Garon's ideals? He finds the idea preposterous. But at the same time, it concerns him. Even while he sends everyone off after the meeting with a smile on his face, a voice in his head tells him this won't be the last he hears of this development.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much to prowessMaster44 for continuing to remind me that pronouns do exist and for catching really stupid spelling mistakes. XD**_


	14. Chapter 13

~Chapter 13~

The next morning, everything falls back into routine for Nicholas, like a family after the Christmas season, the only thing different being his relative celebrity status among the other staff members.

While he is making breakfast, many different people come by and congratulate him the wonderful job he did and how he impressed the king so much. Nicholas has no idea how they heard about this, but as soon as Teresa walks through the door, he realizes who must have let their mouth run loose.

"What have you done, Teresa?" he asks her.

"I may have told a few people about how impressed the king was with you and how amazing your decorating skills are. It wasn't very many," she insists.

"It has apparently spread like wildfire," Nicholas adds.

"Well, I may have intended for that to happen…" Teresa explains.

Nicholas shakes his head. "You are so mischievous."

"I can't help it! You're like my little boy now and I just have to brag about you. It's written in a mother's handbook," Teresa says.

"Mothers don't have a handbook," Nicholas states.

"Who are you to say that? You haven't ever, aren't, and never will be a mother. We could have a whole library of tips and tricks and you would never be the wiser," Teresa scolds mischievously.

"We'll just have to leave it a mystery," Nicholas concludes as he heads toward the door upstairs. "Plus, you're not even my mother," he adds.

"I might as well be!" Teresa shouts back as Nicholas disappears.

Breakfast proceeds per usual and almost how Nicholas expected. As he is cleaning up, Xander once again comments, "I have to thank you again for yesterday, Nicholas. It was very kind of you to give up a very enjoyable experience for an important meeting,"

"Thank you very much, milord," Nicholas says.

"I just have to ask you one thing," Xander adds.

"What might that be?" Nicholas asks.

"Why did you go so above and beyond what was expected of you? It certainly isn't like I told you to make almost everything yourself, decorate the room so elaborately, and serve a meal that could have been used for Thanksgiving. It just makes me wonder why you did so much," Xander explains.

"That's a very easy question to answer," Nicholas says. "I suppose first of all I wanted to show my loyalty, though that isn't really the main reason…"

"What might be the main reason?" Xander presses.

Nicholas pauses for a moment before coming up with an answer. "I think of it as my duty. As your butler, I have the job of representing you in the things I do for you. I wanted to make the meeting hall to look as nice as possible to reflect well on you. The nicer the meeting hall is; the nicer people will think of you. In a way, I see it as my duty to go above and beyond."

Xander notices Nicholas's hesitation and suspects there is more to this than the boy is letting on, but all he responds with is, "Thank you, then, Nicholas. You certainly represented me well."

Nicholas bows silently and exits. Xander watches the door even after he leaves and ponders Nicholas's actions. No one ever goes above and beyond like that just because of duty. It isn't something the human nature usually does. He makes silent plans to find out more.

Nothing else breaks the routine of the day until dinnertime when Nicholas discovers a particularly frustrated Abel standing at one of the cooking stations after returning from serving Xander's dinner. Abel appears to be making soup.

"What's the matter, Abel?" Nicholas asks. Abel huffs and drops the wooden spoon he was stirring with on the counter.

"I just can't get it to taste good at all!" he complains. "It always just tastes bland, like lightly salted water. I don't even know what to do with it."

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Nicholas says. "Here, let me find some things for you." He pulls some of his favorite spices for soup from the shelves and hands them to Abel. "Remember, the only way you will ever get good at anything is through lots and lots of practice. It's okay to make a bland soup sometimes as long as you remember what makes it bland and improve on it the next time."

Nicholas watches Abel for a bit. "You know, you remind me a lot of myself when I was younger," he says.

"How so?" Abel asks.

"I was relentlessly hard on myself. I don't know exactly where it came from, but I wanted to get everything down right away without any work at all," Nicholas explains.

"Wouldn't that be nice. I wish that's how life works," Abel laments.

"But that's not how the world works, and so I had to learn how to deal with it. Working hard is the only way you'll ever get better at something and that's what I had to learn. It never really clicked until after I found motivation, but once you have the motivation, the hard work just tends to flow through your body," Nicholas says. "What is your motivation, Abel?"

"Umm…" Abel says thinking. "I guess it's because I want to be able to stand on my own and not rely on other's help as often. I get kind of tired having to ask people for help all the time even though I need it."

"And the only way you are ever going to do that is by practice. Now, pick a few spices and try adding a bit of each. If you like it, even just a bit, write down what you put it, and adjust it next time till you come up with combinations that you like," Nicholas suggests.

After a couple minutes of taking samples out and spicing them, Abel finds a combination that makes his eyes pop open when he tastes it. "This tastes amazing!" he exclaims.

"See? Now, make sure you write it down before you forget," Nicholas reminds him.

"But I don't have any paper to write it down on…" Abel says.

"That's okay. I have some back at my house you can use. Come on, why don't you visit for the evening? We can play some games with a deck of cards I found," Nicholas offers.

"Sure! We can play Go Fish, and Crazy Eights, and all sort of other things!" Abel says eagerly.

"You bet we can. Come on," Nicholas says leading the way out and making sure to lock the door behind him. Xander's strong words still stick in his head.

A beautiful sunset shows through the iron fence perimeter on the outside of the little village when Nicholas walks up to his front door with Abel. He ushers him inside and follows right after.

"Neat house," Abel comments. "Cool! You have a brick fireplace! My house has stone."

"Well, I can only assume they give a few extra commodities to the butler of the king," Nicholas suggests. "Why don't you start the fire while I get my stationary?" Abel carefully uses the flint and steel to start the fire while Nicholas retrieves his paper from his bedside table. When he brings it back, they spend a few minutes remembering and writing down the things Abel used.

After they finish, Nicholas gets out a deck of cards and starts playing a simple game of Go Fish with Abel. Abel smiles through the whole game, just happy to be hanging out with someone.

"You know, I've told you a little bit about how I was brought up but I don't know a lot about you. What was your life like when you were really young?" Nicholas says in the middle of a round.

Abel looks lost in thought like he's trying to recall something. "It wasn't really that exciting," he finally says. "It was kind of like yours, except that I've lived near the castle for my whole life. It was kind of hard too because my parents were really good at their job but I wasn't like you've seen. So I just became a generic worker, so I didn't have a specific responsibility and it didn't matter if I mess up. That's where I am today too, I guess."

Nicholas smiles comfortingly. "At least you know you will always be able to improve."

Abel yawns very loudly. Nicholas notices and glances out the window. "It's getting late. Perhaps you should be going home."

"No, it's okay," Abel assures. "My parents don't mind if I stay out late. Let's just finish this game.

"Okay, then," Nicholas says. He examines his hand for a bit and places his next card on the pile for a game of Crazy Eights. When he looks up, he sees that Abel has already fallen asleep in the chair.

"Ah, the power of cushioned chairs…" Nicholas mumbles to himself. He packs up the cards, puts a blanket over Abel, and goes to bed himself.


	15. Chapter 14

_**A/N: Ok, so I've thoughroughy determined that I cannot keep to schedules. I love community college, but it's a lot of work. I'm not going to pretend like I can upload regularly. I'm just too lazy with my free time since it's not that much anymore. But now it's Winter Break, and I am going to work on this again. I sincerely ask for the forgiveness of all my followers, I feel I've let you down lightly.**_

 _ **Anyways, what better way to get back into this than with my favorite chapter so far! I hope you guys enjoy this. Things really start to develop here... Have fun, and MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!**_

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~Chapter 14~

The next morning, Xander stops to talk to him again at breakfast.

"Yesterday I asked you why you went so above and beyond with your work, but the more I thought about my question and your answer, I realized that there is something else I really should be asking," he says as Nicholas is clearing the dishes.

"Ask away, and I will give you my best answer," Nicholas replies.

"In all the time I've heard about you and while you are in my employment, I don't think I've once really stopped to think why. Why did you become a butler, Nicholas? It's not something everyone sees the appeal in and not something those who are do as well as you do," Xander questions.

Nicholas once again pauses before answering. "I was raised very strictly by my parents, and they were fiercely loyal to the leaders of this kingdom. I believe that is why I became a butler; because I was simply following the teaching of my parents."

Once again, Xander doesn't quite believe him and can see he isn't telling the whole truth. Why he is doing this, he can't quite figure out. Whatever the reason, Xander has a little experiment in store.

"Yes, I suppose that would explain it well," Xander says.

Nicholas looks happy. "Yes, I think it does."

"Well, today is going to be a little bit different, Nicholas," Xander warns. "Today I'm going on patrol with Silas and his men. I want you to accompany me on the patrol. After all, part of your job is to protect me," he elaborates.

"Certainly, milord. It would be an honor for me to accompany you and I will protect you from any harm that may come your way," Nicholas assures.

Xander smiles. "Yes, I'm sure you will," he says. "I'll give you a little time to prepare. If there is anything personal you want to bring, get it now, but weapons will be provided for you at the training ground where Silas and his men are. When you are ready, meet me in front of the stables."

"Right away, milord," Nicholas bows and speedily walks out. He leaves the dishes in a sink for someone else to wash and rushes quickly to his house. At his house, he pulls open the top drawer of his bedside table. He unfolds a shirt way too small for him and pulls out some of his own personal shurikens hidden in the shirt. Even though Xander said weapons would be provided, Nicholas always feels safer with his own. He runs back out and around to the stables.

Xander is waiting there patiently for him with the reins of two horses in his hands. When Nicholas walks up, Xander hands him the reins to one of the horses. "I don't think you've ever been to the Nohrian training grounds so just follow me. It's not that far away at all so it shouldn't take us long," he states. They both mount their horses and head east from the castle to the right of the front gates.

Even though there is absolutely nothing of danger in the heart of the city, subconsciously anticipating the patrol ahead, Nicholas's senses are heightened and more alert.

When they reach the training grounds, he realizes his tenseness and relaxes. As the ride up, the same front-curled hair man who smiled at Nicholas in the meeting is there to meet them.

"Good morning, Xander!" he calls out as the two ride to a halt. "Quite a beautiful morning today, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, I certainly would," Xander agrees. "And good morning to you too, Silas. Good to see you under not quite so serious terms."

"Ah, it was light hearted enough the other day. Which reminds me, how about you introduce me to the master designer himself?" Silas suggests.

"Certainly. Silas, this is Nicholas, my butler as of a few weeks ago," Xander says gesturing to Nicholas standing at attention beside him.

"It is a pleasure to officially meet you, sir," Nicholas says amiably to Silas. Silas smiles widely like a young kid.

"That meeting was a million times better because of you. Your craftsmanship is impeccable and the meal you helped prepare was absolutely divine. I should be the one saying it is a pleasure to meet _you_ ," Silas says, holding his hand out to Nicholas. Surprised, Nicholas takes it anyway and shakes Silas's hand politely. His first impression of Silas is certainly of the perpetually cheerful nature.

"You are too kind. Thank you very much," Nicholas responds.

"Certainly a polite one," Silas comments to Xander.

Xander smiles slightly down a little bit at Nicholas. "Yes, he certainly is."

"Well, as this is Nicholas's first patrol, why don't I run through a few things with him first and you can get the troops ready. I have feeling you can get them organized faster than I can," Silas suggests and leads Nicholas away while Xander heads over with their horses to a group of men jostling each other around in a competitive, yet playful manner.

Silas leads Nicholas over to a large weapons rack. "If you are as skilled as I think you are, not much training will actually have to be done," he says pulling a few shurikens and a small dagger off of the racks. "Let me just explain how the patrols work. This is very routine so nothing special. We have a route throughout each section of the kingdom. Today we're taking the east one. We simply ride along the countryside paths and stop at the town along the way to check on the townsfolk there. You will be riding up front with Xander and me since you are his guard. Just be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and for any bandits that might attack us." Silas sees Nicholas tense slightly at the mention of bandits. He laughs heartily. "The likelihood of anything happening is slim to none, it's just a precaution. Just relax and enjoy the ride. It really is a great way to just explore the countryside."

Nicholas relaxes. "Sound like a simple enough procedure," he says, taking the shurikens and dagger from Silas.

"Really it's just kind of a figure-it-out-as-you-go kind of thing. You won't have any trouble at all," Silas assures. "Well, I think that's everything I need to tell you. Why don't we join Xander and my patrol group? Hopefully, he's been able to settle them down. They're quite the rowdy bunch…" he muses.

The two of them return to where the left Xander and find him sitting on his horse in front of a perfectly formed two by two lines of soldiers. Silas gapes.

"How did you do that?" he asks.

"Do what?" Xander asks innocently.

"Get them in formation like that. It takes me an average of fifteen full minutes. We were only gone for about two," Silas explains.

"May I remind you, I am the king, Silas," Xander says playfully.

"Well, yes, I know that," Silas sputters. "Never mind, let's just get on our way." Nicholas smiles at the two of them. Silas clearly brings out the playfulness in Xander, like old childhood friends. Silas and Nicholas mount their horses. He rides in the middle while Xander and Nicholas ride on the sides and the rest of the army behind them. In no time, they are off into the countryside.

The first part of the journey takes them through fields of grass and a number of wheat farms. Passing by some of them, Silas calls out and waves to the works. Many of them wave cheerfully back, clearly used to seeing the patrol come by their farms on a regular basis. Since they are wide open on all sides in the fields, Nicholas doesn't find any cause to worry. Anyone silly enough to try and attack them would immediately be seen from miles away. Not too long after riding through the fields, Nicholas sees the path stretch into some woods in the distance. Hi's mind swims with possibilities of ambush in the woods.

"What's in the woods?" he asks Silas beside him.

"There's a large lumber town in the middle of those woods, and that's where we're stopping for lunch. They supply the kingdom with a lot of the wood we use. And don't worry, they're very environmentally friendly. They replant a tree for every one they cut down," Silas explains.

"But isn't it dangerous going through the woods?" Nicholas insists.

"Well, one, it's not like there's any other way because they live in the middle of the forest, and two, nothing has ever happened in the years I've been here," Silas reassures.

"With all due respect sir, you are very young," Nicholas comments still staring off at the woods.

Silas laughs loudly. "Polite and cautious. You're like the poster child of butlers," he remarks. Then in a more serious tone he adds, "Look, there really isn't anything to worry about at all. Just relax and enjoy the ride. Just you wait, we'll be there in no time in all. You'll enjoy yourself so much that when we get to the town you'll say to me, 'Wait, did we even go through the woods? It's like it wasn't even there!'" Silas laughs. Nicholas doesn't say anything and Silas stops.

The whole time, Xander is silently listening on the other side of Silas, pondering Nicholas's paranoia, starting to form reasons in his head.

Soon the group reaches the entrance to the forest marked by the slowly increasing density of trees. Once inside, a mysterious force of nature causes everyone to look around and take everything in. Xander sees the life of his kingdom, the green representing the prosperity he has been able to bring and the joy of the people. Silas sees the flowers and the small animals and insects scuttling about and watches them with childlike fascination.

Nicholas sees shadows. He sees hiding places, deformities, and possibly poisonous plants, even with the sun shining brightly through the trees. He tenses, ready for anything to pop out of the foliage and attack, utterly absorbed in watching for danger.

Xander notices. He rides closer to Silas and whispers, "Look at Nicholas." Silas glances over and sees his shoulders raised, his knuckles white from holding the reins too tight and his eyes darting around like squirrels on a sugar high.

"Why is he so tense like that?" Silas asks, worried about him.

"To be honest, I wasn't really sure at first. But the more I think about it, I think it's because of me," Xander answers.

"Well, of course it's probably because of you. It is his job to protect you," Silas responds.

"No, not like that," Xander dismisses. "He reminds me of how I absolutely adored my father in my youth, or how an opera connoisseur is completely smitten by their favorite singer."

"I think you're over thinking this too much," Silas says. "I've met a lot of men like Nicholas who were just a tense as him their first time being even remotely responsible for someone's safety. Perhaps you're the one who needs to relax. Enjoy the ride. It's wonderful to reduce the stress of your everyday life. We'll arrive at the town in about ten minutes. Both of you can relax there."

True to Silas's word of two parts, they reach the town in almost exactly ten minutes and literally nothing happens to them on the way. They might as well have been riding on a flat open plain. When Nicholas sees the houses, he snaps out of his intense focus and lightens up a bit.

Riding through the streets of the town, Nicholas notices lots of busy people going about their lives stop and wave at the group, cheering even when they see Xander with them. Xander waves back to every one of them. Nicholas just rides along steadily, slightly timid in a busy place he's never been to before.

Somewhere a little ways from the center of town, Silas halts the group in front of a pen for horses and everyone leads their horses inside. Nicholas follows suits. Once everyone's horses are happily put away, they walk into a rather large building next to the pen and Nicholas follows inside, too.

Once inside, he realizes it's a very large and lively tavern; the townsfolk are happily eating hearty meals and drinking their fill of something Nicholas can't quite identify.

Silas comes up to Nicholas and says, "We stop here on this route for lunch. Feel free to order what you would like; the owner is very generous here and puts everything on the house. Why don't you sit with me and Xander? I'll introduce you when she comes by."

The trio finds an open table on the right side of the room and sits down. A tall, dark-haired, and stockily built woman comes walking over with a pencil and paper.

"Welcome, Silas! Must be Tuesday then. Good to see you back," she says in an energetic, lower-than-average voice.

"Good to see you too, Marcie," Silas greets. Nicholas immediately commits the name to memory.

Then Marcie notices Xander sitting with Silas. "Well, well, well! I see our wonderful king has graced my tavern today. 'Tis good to see you, milord. Thank you for coming here today," she greets with her hands at her hips. Somehow, curtsying doesn't strike Nicholas as something she would do.

"Just coming along for the patrol," Xander says.

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter to me," she says. "Just glad to be able to serve you today." Then she also notices Nicholas sitting silently next to Xander. "And who might this be? I have no recollection of ever seeing him and I have every customer's face locked tightly away in this here brain of mine."

"This is Nicholas," Xander introduces, putting a hand on Nicholas's shoulder. "He is my new butler I hired after Gunter passed away," he elaborates.

"Well, I'll be. Such a young man to be in such an important position. Why don't I get your order first, laddie? What'll it be for you?" Marcie asks.

"I'll just have a slice of ham, thank you," Nicholas orders.

"Anything to drink?" Marcie continues.

"Just a glass of water, please," he says.

"Oh that's boring," Marcie says. "I would think a special young man like you would order something more exciting. How about a mug of spiced apple cider? Even in the warm springtime, you can never go wrong with a mug of spiced apple cider. Warms the heart and soul, I always say," she suggests.

"Actually, that sounds quite lovely, thank you," Nicholas says, grateful for the suggestion.

"Perfect," Marcie concludes. She takes Silas and Xander's orders and returns to the back of the tavern.

Silas starts the conversation by asking Nicholas, "So how are you enjoying the day so far?"

The question catches Nicholas off guard. "Well, I have to admit it was very peaceful riding through the fields. I'd never realized just how vast the kingdom actually is. It was very interesting getting a glimpse into the agriculture aspect of the country,"

"Personally, I really enjoy riding through the woods. Just being around all of that life makes me feel happy," Xander adds.

"Did you notice that one tree surrounded by the patch of pansies at the beginning? It really was quite beautiful," Silas asks.

"How could you miss it? It was very beautiful," Xander agrees

"What about you Nicholas? Did you notice it?" Silas asks.

"Actually, I didn't see it. I might have been preoccupied at the time," Nicholas suggests quietly.

"Well, that's quite all right. I can understand your concentration. Don't kick yourself over it, thought. You'll probably see it another day. It's certainly is unique, though," Silas comments.

Just after he finishes that statement, Marcie comes back with plates of food and mugs of drink for the three of them.

"Alrighty, then. Three hearty meals for three hearty men. Eat up!" she exclaims heartily.

After that interruption, Silas and Xander start up a conversation about the Nohrian military that Nicholas slowly tunes out and just sits there eating and thinking.

He also tries desperately to remember the ring of pansies around the tree Silas described. But despite valiant efforts, Nicholas just can't remember anything, even though he could swear he was looking everywhere at once. All he can remember are the suspicious places and dark shadows where someone could be. This makes Nicholas check himself. Maybe he is being a bit too over cautious and he should take Silas's advice and relax more to enjoy the rest of the trip. But every time he thinks about letting his guard down, the thought of a bandit popping out and attacking, possible killing King Xander floats back into his consciousness. Eventually, Nicolas just gives up and focuses on the meal in front of him.

After the three finish and so does the small group of men, they get back on their horses and head back on their way.

After a couple of minutes, the path turns out of the woods and follows the edge of the trail. When they turn, Nicholas follows the forest with his eyes, still watching for anything coming from inside.

A small nudge on the shoulder from Silas's elbow breaks his concentration and he looks to Silas to see what the nudge was about. Silas motions with his head to their left. Nicholas looks around him.

He sees a beautiful crystal clear stream running along the left side of the path. The motion of the rapids over rocks and the colors of the rocks on the riverbank captivate Nicholas. He forgets all about the woods to his right and watches the stream.

Suddenly something pops out of the water in front of his line of sight and he catches the glimmer of peach colored scales. "Look!" he says happily, pointing.

A school of salmon is swimming alongside the group and every few seconds another one jumps out of the water, glimmering in the sunlight.

After watching the fish for a bit, Xander glances over at Nicholas and sees him happily watching the fish with fascination. He looks at Silas. Silas just winks.

From that point on, Nicholas is able to be much more relaxed during the trip, even casually talking with the rest of group at some points. And exactly as Silas predicted, absolutely nothing else happens on the trip.

When Xander and Nicholas are riding back from the training grounds in the afternoon, Xander says to him, "I'm glad you were able to relax at the end of the trip there. It looked like you might fall off your horse at the beginning from focusing too hard."

Slightly embarrassed, Nicholas tries to defend himself by responding, "It was only out of concern for your safety."

"While I find it very touching you are concerned for my well-being, perhaps you should also entertain the notion that I am also concerned for _your_ well-being. It wouldn't do good if you die early of stress," Xander says. Nicholas can't think of anything to say to that and just keeps riding. Xander doesn't say anything further, either.

After a few more minutes, the two of them ride up to the stables. Much to their surprise, they find Elise waiting there for them.

"Hey, guys! You're finally back! I thought you'd never come home." she calls out when they ride closer.

"Big Brother, I'm bored, can Nicholas play with me for a bit?" she says in that persuasive little sister voice when Xander dismounts his horse. Xander looks back at Nicholas and raises his eyebrows.

"I would be perfectly happy to entertain Lady Elise with your permission," Nicholas says cheerfully.

"Alright then, you two run off and play. Just don't be late for dinner," Xander says leaving Elise and Nicholas together while he runs inside.

"Yay! Now I can finally have some fun. Let me get my ball real quick," Elise says. Then she runs off to a corner of the stable and retrieves a pink rubber ball. She runs back to Nicholas. Then without any warning whatsoever she yells, "Race ya to the meadow!" and runs off giggling. He quickly runs after her and can't help laughing as well. Even with Elise's mischievous head start, he easily catches up to her, but in the name of good sport, he slows his pace to give her a chance.

Right when they turn around the corner around the castle to the meadow, Elise gains a second wind and sprints in front of Nicholas, leaps into the air, and lands with her feet planted firmly in the grass.

"First!" she yells, hardly out of breath. Nicholas runs up behind her, breathing heavily from the unexpected exercise.

"That's only because you cheated," Nicholas protests.

Elise purses her lips and puts her hands on her hips. "It's not cheating, it's called a tactical advantage," she explains. "Besides, you're just mad because you're slow."

Nicholas starts laughing at that and she quickly does too.

"What do you want to do?" he asks once they've calmed down.

"I dunno," Elise says.

"You mean you don't have anything planned? What about your favorite game?" Nicholas questions.

"I usually just make up something on the spot. It's much more fun that way than playing the same silly games over and over," Elise explains.

"Alright then, make up something. I'm open for anything," Nicholas says.

"Hmm…" Elise ponders. "I know! How about you run over there and I kick the ball high into the air and you have to try and hit the ball back to me with your head! That'll be really fun!" she concludes.

Nicholas immediately finds several fundamental flaws with the game but decides to go along with it for Elise's sake.

"Alright, that does sound like it could be an entertaining challenge," Nicholas agrees.

"Okay! You run out and I'll tell you when to stop," Elise commands. Nicholas starts jogging out into the field, and when he's about twenty yards away Elise yells, "Stop!"

"'Kay, now I'm gonna kick it and you have to hit it back to me with your head!" she yells, lining up her foot with the ball. She takes a few steps back, starts walking forward, drops the ball, and kicks it with her foot.

The ball goes wildly off course to Nicholas's left and it lands a good fifteen feet away from him even with him running after it. "Oops…" Elise mumbles to herself. Nicholas just scoops up the ball and throws it back to her.

"Try aiming a little toward me so I can actually hit it," he suggests humorously. Elise sticks her tongue out at him.

"I was just practicing," she protests. She lines up another shot and kicks it again. This time the ball goes slightly straighter and Nicholas manages to glance his head off of the ball, but it rebounds nowhere near Elise. Elise chases the ball a little ways and lines up another shot.

This process goes on for another thirty minutes with varying degrees of success. Some shots weren't so successful. In one instance Elise kicks the ball with all her petite might and looks forward to see where it went, but all she sees is Nicholas laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny!" she yells. Nicholas just clutches his stomach and points behind her. Elise turns around to see the pink ball bouncing off into the distance behind her. "Aww, man!" she exclaims and runs off to grab it again.

One time Elise manages to kick it fairly straight and high. Nicholas quickly gets under the spot where it's going to land. "You got this!" Elise yells. Nicholas angles his head and hits the ball back to her. Unfortunately, the angle is a little bit off and it goes to her right and she can't quite catch it.

"Sorry! My fault!" Nicholas calls out to her.

"It's okay! We'll just try again," she says.

Finally, after around forty-five minutes of playing this game, Elise manages to kick another one nice and straight, and high enough for Nicholas to get underneath it. Just as the ball is about to hit his head, he lunges upwards onto his toes to give the ball extra oomph.

Amazingly, the ball goes straight back to Elise. Afraid of messing it up, Nicholas just watches as she stumbles around a bit, surprised that it actually came back to her. The ball comes down right into her hands and she catches it.

"I got it, I got it!" she screams excitedly. Nicholas claps enthusiastically as he runs back to Elise. "Wait, what are you doing?" she asks when Nicholas gets close to her again.

"We did it, didn't we? Aren't we done now?" Nicholas asks.

"No! Now we gotta get it two times in a row!" she exclaims enthusiastically

"Aren't you the least bit tired?" Nicholas asks.

"Nope!" she says gleefully. Nicholas just groans and falls on his back in the grass. "What?" she asks, confused.

"I'm pooped," Nicholas states simply.

"Okay, then! We can just lie in the grass!" Elise says and flops down beside him.

"You're never going to grow up, are you. How in the world do you have so much energy?" he puffs out, short of breath.

"Growing up's not fun. But now no one ever plays with me around here," Elise complains. "It's all so stiff and proper being part of the royal family so no one ever has time to just goof off. That's why I like playing with you because you're so polite but you also know how to have a lot of fun."

"Well, thank you for the compliments, milady," Nicholas thanks her.

"Oh don't bother with being proper around me, I don't mind. Just call me Elise. What's the point of having a name if no one is going to bother using it?" Elise says.

"If you insist, Lady Elise," Nicholas says, smirking.

"Stop that, silly!" Elise exclaims, rolling over and punching Nicholas in the shoulder. He laughs.

"Alright then, I'll call you Elise. Happy?" He concedes. Elise just giggles and sighs.

"You're so fun to be around, Nicholas," she says happily staring up at the clouds. "I wish you could be my butler cause then I could order you to play with me whenever I want, but I don't think that would be very proper," she says.

"Well if there is any time you wish to play, don't hesitate to see if I'm available. I need the exercise anyway," Nicholas states. Elise giggles again.

"Hey, look! That cloud looks like a bunny!" Elise randomly exclaims, pointing at a fluffy white cloud in the sky.

"Really? Personally, I think it looks more like a dog. See how its ears droop a little at the tips?" Nicholas explains.

"Nuh uh! It's a bunny!" Elise argues.

"Okay, well what about that one," he says pointing to a different cloud. "That one has to look like a fish to you."

"Nope! That's a bow tie! See how the sides are more even?" Elise argues.

This heated discussion on cloud shapes continues for a few more minutes before Nicholas finally says, "It's getting late. I need to be getting back so I can prepare Xander's dinner. Why don't I escort you back to your room?" Nicholas suggests.

"Sure!" Elise says and she hops up onto her feet again. The two of them walk side by side chatting all the way back to the front of the castle.

Nicholas takes her all the way back to her room and drops her off there. "I hope you had a good time this afternoon," he says.

"Yup! I sure did!" Elise confirms. "Thanks a bunch! See you later!" she salutes before waltzing into her room and closing the door. Nicholas stands there for a brief moment before turning around.

Unexpectedly, he sees Camilla's face peering out of her room across the hall. She smiles at him seductively and winks. Then she retreats back into her room.

" _How strange…_ " Nicholas thinks to himself.

Quickly, Nicholas prepares Xander his dinner and brings it up to his room.

"Good evening Nicholas. How was your afternoon with Elise?" he asks while Nicholas sets the meal down at the table.

"Quite enjoyable and invigorating," Nicholas says. "I don't believe I've ever exercised more in my entire life."

Xander laughs. "Yes, Elise can be quite a rambunctious person when she wants to be, which is pretty much all the time."

"That has become quite apparent in my time here," Nicholas adds.

"Well, even if you did get worn out, I'm sure you made her very happy. It's getting harder for any of us to play with here anymore, so she must be very grateful to you for playing with her," Xander assumes.

Yes, I'm quite sure she was," Nicholas confirms.

"Anyway, thank you for accompanying me on the patrol earlier today. It was very assuring to see you so concerned for my safety," Xander thanks.

"It is simply all part of my duty, milord. I am happy to ensure your safety," Nicholas says.

"Good night then, Nicholas," Xander dismisses.

"Good night, milord. See you tomorrow," Nicholas responds. He exits the room with the dishes in hand.

" _All part of his duty, he says,"_ Xander ponders to himself.


	16. Chapter 15

_**A/N - Got another one out! This one is much shorter, but it has just as much meat as the others (at least prowessMaster44 tells me that. But I'm inclined to believe her). Once again, thanks to her for the editing and encouragement. Hope you enjoy! Chapters are mostly all much longer from here on out.**_

* * *

~Chapter 15~

After the crazy events of yesterday, nothing seems to be much out of place in the days after. Just normal routine. Maybe a few things added here and there. But after a while, Nicholas starts to notice the few things adding up more and more. The days progress to the point where at every moment of the day, he's doing some sort of chore or task for Xander.

Being the polite person he is though, Nicholas does all of these things without complaining at all. He simply accepts it as his duty and continues to do what is asked of him.

The people around him notice how busy Nicholas is. He may not be concerned about it, but the others sure are.

"Nicholas, do you realize you haven't stopped by the kitchen just to chat in over a week now?" Teresa asks one day while he is working on mending a pile of clothes Xander gave him at a station next to the stairway to the north wing.

"I'm sorry, I've been meaning too, but I've just been so busy lately," he explains.

"Do you think I haven't noticed?" Teresa comments. "The only thing you've been doing lately is work, work, and more work. This is so unlike Xander. Don't you think this is a bit excessive?"

"Not really," Nicholas says. "If this is what Xander wants me to do, I am perfectly happy to do it. It is my duty after all."

Teresa sighs. "Yes, I know. Look, Nicholas. I know that you respect Xander very much and you want to do all that you can to please him. I'm just worried that you're going to overwork yourself. Your friends miss you too. Perhaps you should say something to Xander the next time you see him."

"Alright, if it'll make you happy. I just really don't want to disappoint him if I'm not doing my work," Nicholas says.

"I know you do. I think it's really glad you've found someone of good character who you respect and want to devote your service too. If this is what makes you happy, you just keep on working," Teresa says.

"Thank you, Teresa. I'm glad you're looking out for me. I'll be sure to make time to chat in the future," Nicholas assures. Teresa smiles warmly and walks back to the kitchen.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Xander had snuck down the stairway and was listening at the door to the both of them. Not very fitting for a king, but at this point, he doesn't mind. The conversation he just heard gives him a lot to think about. He lingers at the door a little bit longer before heading back upstairs to his room, the wheels in his brain churning hard.

Before actually going into his own room, Xander decides to visit Camilla to help sort some things out.

Xander knocks on Camilla's door and she calls out in a sweet soothing voice, "Come in!"

Xander wanders through the doorway and shuts the door behind him. "I need some advice," he says.

"Big brother needs advice? Whatever for?" Camilla says soothingly.

Xander walks over to her bed and sits down beside her. "What do you think of Nicholas?" he starts off.

"Oh, the boy is such a dear. He's so polite all the time and Elise absolutely adores him. He's so cute too. He'll make a fine husband someday," Camilla observes.

"Go back to the part about him being polite. Lately, that's been bothering me a lot. He is so very polite around me all the time. He's very very loyal and he is overly concerned for my safety. You should have seen him on the patrol a few weeks ago. He couldn't take his eyes off the woods for fear something would jump out and attack us," Xander explains.

"Well, shouldn't you be happy about that? You've found a very good butler who is very willing to serve," Camilla says, concerned. "Whatever are you bothered by?"

"I'm not worried, really, just...frustrated," Xander says. "The past weeks I've been slowly increasing the amount of work I've given Nicholas and he does absolutely everything without question, even if it's absolutely ridiculous. I was just listening at the door to the sewing room in the staff's quarters and I heard Nicholas talking to Teresa, the head cook."

"Ooh, the king listening in on conversations? How scandalous!" Camilla teases. When she doesn't get a reaction out of Xander she says, "I'm sorry, dear. Please continue."

"Teresa was concerned about how much work Nicholas was doing. What really stood out to me is how she was saying she knew how I was a great role model for Nicholas and how she understands he wants to do everything he can to impress me," Xander elaborates.

"Well, I think that's really sweet," Camilla says. "The boy clearly adores you very much. You need to be friendlier to him."

"That's just the thing," Xander says. "It's just so...hard."

"Now why is that?" Camilla asks.

"Losing Gunter, a friend and almost a second father I'd had since my early youth was so hard on me. I lost him at a time I needed him most; when I was presented with the responsibility of being king. I think that loss still lingers within me somewhere, and with all the responsibilities I have now, it's hard for me to let that go and equally as hard to make a new friend," Xander laments.

Camilla stays quiet for a while watching Xander stare down at the carpet. Finally, she puts a hand on his back and slowly rubs it. "I know it's hard, dear brother, but I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"I can only imagine what being king is like; all those responsibilities and the condition of the kingdom on your shoulders, but to me, I think you've got the cause and effect backward," Camilla continues.

"What do you mean?" Xander asks looking up at Camilla

"You attribute you holding on to Gunter's passing as why you're so stressed and reluctant to make new friends. Call it a woman's intuition, but I think it's the other way around. Making new friends is exactly the way to help ease the pain."

"You haven't been able to make another close friend and that is why you still keep the memory of Gunter lingering in your mind. If you fill that void with another close friend like Nicholas, you won't feel as lonely anymore," Camilla explains.

Xander ponders that for a bit and after a while starts smiling in a relieved way. "I don't know why I didn't come to you earlier, Camilla," he says. "I think your woman's intuition is correct. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."

"Anytime, Xander. Now start being more relaxed. It won't do good to have a king whose hair is white by the age of thirty," Camilla comments.

Xander laughs and smiles at her. "You always know what to say to make someone lighten up, do you know that?"

"That's because I'm funny, dear," Camilla says, her head tilted to the side. Xander smiles again and gets up to leave.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget that your five-year coronation anniversary is coming up next week," Camilla adds right as Xander is about to leave, making him turn around. "Just thought I might add that little tidbit in," she continues and winks at him.

Xander just raises his eyebrows and leaves, his mind a concentrated mass of whirring gears and circuits. Despite his active brain, he recognizes that Camilla left him feeling happier and a renewed plan for healing. He returns to his room to attempt putting that plan into action.


End file.
